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| Social distancing set-up for passport applicants at the Philippine Consulate |
Since it reopened on Apr 19 after a long Easter break, the
Consulate has implemented its own social distancing measures in line with the Hong Kong government’s campaign to prevent the spread of
the coronavirus.
The most obvious change is the placement of customized
benches in front of the service counters for passport applicants who need to
have their pictures taken. The applicant now sits about a meter away from the
counters where the staff shoots with the camera and encodes the applicant’s
personal data.
Before this, the applicants needed to go inside the office
beyond the counters to have their passport application processed by a staff
member sitting at the same table.
Two further enhancements have been put in place in relation
to passport applications.
The first, according to Consul General Raly Tejada, is that
“all passport appointments will now be online, email and phone – absolutely no
walk ins.”
This is meant to reduce the number of people congregating
near the counters and assures applicants that they will get their passport
application processed on the indicated day.
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| Congen Tejada says there will be no more walk-ins and pick-ups for passport applicants |
The second, which Congen Tejada says will likely be put in
place middle of next month, is to use Hong Kong Post’s “efficient and reliable
service” to send the new passport directly to the applicant’s home address.
Told that some migrant workers are not given access to their
employers’ mailbox, he said the Consulate will ask employers to allow their
helpers to accept the delivery as they will have to personally sign a receipt
for it.
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Congen Tejada said sending the passport directly to the
applicant will save time and effort, as all they have to do is buy a prepaid
envelope from HK Post amounting to $32.
“The main reason is to help the applicant avoid making
another trip to the Consulate just to pick up, and in compliance na din with
the prescribed social distancing rules,” he said.
Often, the passport office in Manila
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| Passport applicants will be asked to buy this mailing envelope by mid-May |
Over at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, the most
sought-after service by migrant workers of having their money claims against
their employers calculated is also now being done only online.
But apart from these measures, the Consulate cannot do much
more to reduce the number of people inside its premises in the five days that
it is open to the public.
Many Filipinos still need to go to them personally to ask
for help for all sorts of personal, legal, or work-related problems. Others go
to them to process new employment contracts, or transact with attached agencies
like SSS and Pag-IBIG.
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Congen Tejada says closing down the Consulate as what’s been
done in many countries all over the world where there is a lockdown is out of
the question.
First, Hong Kong has never
shut government offices providing essential services, like the Labour and
Immigration Departments.
More importantly, he says: “We need to stay open kasi
kailangan tayo ng mga kababayan natin. Kung wala silang matakbuhan, paano na?”
