I had the chance to pay the Department of Foreign Affairs a visit today at its new location as "chaperon" to my sister and my mom who were renewing their passport. Finding it required a great amount of patience due to the following reasons:
- Firstly, at present, it is rare to find a Google match that actually details its new whereabouts. Most search results still post the old address near Plaza Independencia of Cebu City. Even Google maps still record the old site.
- Secondly, it is now located at the 4th floor of Pacific Mall, formerly and more popularly known as Mandaue Metro Gaisano. Rebranding or totally renaming a business can be quite confusing for regular customers. Even the driver of the taxi we rode in either didn’t really know where Pacific Mall was or he faked his ignorance. And since I wasn’t sure myself about its exact location, he seemed happy to make detours until I blurt out Metro Gaisano with conviction.
- Lastly, the place is really far for people living near the Cebu downtown area, therefore, getting to the new DFA office is also expensive as it is time consuming.
But it wasn’t all bad. The new location is far bigger than the old. They seem to have occupied the entire 4th floor of the mall. The process is now quite straightforward and they appear to have applied a strategy. They have a specific point by which all applicants enter and they have an exit door at the other end of the office where all whose business and intentions got served go out. They kind of placed the departmental sections according to the sequence of the entire application process. Only applicants were allowed to enter in the office. Their respective companions were provided sufficient waiting benches. Space, obviously was one improvement DFA nailed in this transfer and it is very heartwarming and hope-stoking to see our government offices get some good administrative / management strategies implemented. In this connection, my congratulations go to the head officer of DFA,Secretary Albert F. del Rosario.
Pictures below show glimpses of DFA’s current facility in Cebu:
Note for all passport applicants coming from local provinces especially those who are applying through third party agencies, buzzes lately say that travel agency passport processing services will be stopped as soon as DFA’s plan to get more of their offices moved into major malls in key provinces nationwide takes place. I am not quite sure how this plan can conveniently work out for all, though.
Passport requirements? Click here.
Complete list of DFA Office Locations in this page.
Department of Foreign Affairs- Cebu
Address:
(032) 520-5898
(032) 520-6193
(032) 520-6550
Fax No.
(032) 520-6551
Email:
dfacebu@yahoo.com
cebu.rco@dfa.gov.ph
cebu@dfa.gov.ph
- Firstly, at present, it is rare to find a Google match that actually details its new whereabouts. Most search results still post the old address near Plaza Independencia of Cebu City. Even Google maps still record the old site.
- Secondly, it is now located at the 4th floor of Pacific Mall, formerly and more popularly known as Mandaue Metro Gaisano. Rebranding or totally renaming a business can be quite confusing for regular customers. Even the driver of the taxi we rode in either didn’t really know where Pacific Mall was or he faked his ignorance. And since I wasn’t sure myself about its exact location, he seemed happy to make detours until I blurt out Metro Gaisano with conviction.
- Lastly, the place is really far for people living near the Cebu downtown area, therefore, getting to the new DFA office is also expensive as it is time consuming.
But it wasn’t all bad. The new location is far bigger than the old. They seem to have occupied the entire 4th floor of the mall. The process is now quite straightforward and they appear to have applied a strategy. They have a specific point by which all applicants enter and they have an exit door at the other end of the office where all whose business and intentions got served go out. They kind of placed the departmental sections according to the sequence of the entire application process. Only applicants were allowed to enter in the office. Their respective companions were provided sufficient waiting benches. Space, obviously was one improvement DFA nailed in this transfer and it is very heartwarming and hope-stoking to see our government offices get some good administrative / management strategies implemented. In this connection, my congratulations go to the head officer of DFA,
Pictures below show glimpses of DFA’s current facility in Cebu:
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| Department of Foreign Affairs at Cebu's Pacific Mall in Mandaue. |
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| Applicants at the Entrance of the Office in the 4th Floor of Pacific Mall. |
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| Waiting area for non-applicants. Far right - applicant is filling out a form. |
Passport requirements? Click here.
Complete list of DFA Office Locations in this page.
Department of Foreign Affairs- Cebu
Address:
4th Level Pacific Mall-Metro Mandaue,
UN Ave. cor. MC Briones St.,
Brgy. Estancia, Mandaue City
Telephone Nos:(032) 520-5898
(032) 520-6193
(032) 520-6550
Fax No.
(032) 520-6551
Email:
dfacebu@yahoo.com
cebu.rco@dfa.gov.ph
cebu@dfa.gov.ph
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You were able to blog the event so fast huh =)...thanks for accompanying us gerts.
ReplyDeleteHehe. The first few paragraphs were composed while I waited for you and mom to finish. Sometimes smartphones do help. :D
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