Over One Million Filipinos Served
Safe and quick renewal and delivery services through the convenience of a phone call—this is what the Department of Foreign Affairs, with citizen service partner, Pilipinas Teleserv, Inc., has been providing passport applicants for five years now.
Launched in 2001, DFA Passport Direct has already processed over 380,000 passports and has assisted more than one million Filipinos with necessary information on passport requirements and renewal through its door-to-door pickup and delivery service, 24/7 accessibility, and nationwide coverage, made possible through its 737-1000 hotline.
“Pilipinas Teleserv, through DFA Passport Direct, complements the services that our department has, especially in providing quality services to passport applicants,” says Department of Foreign Affairs acting assistant secretary Domingo Lucenario.
DFA Passport Direct offers hassle-free services for passport applicants. A client simply dials 737-1000 and a DFA Passport Direct Customer Care Officer takes customer information. Requirements, including old passports, are picked up from the client’s address. DFA Passport Direct processes the application and within six to eight working days, a new passport, together with the old one, is delivered right to the client’s doorstep. The service is also available online at www.passport.com.ph.
“DFA Passport Direct is fully aimed at improving the citizen service experience,” says Pilipinas Teleserv director for marketing and quality assurance Raffy David.
The service has become so popular that it has grown an average of more than 10% per year, with more than 20 call center agents handling nearly 1,000 calls per day. DFA Passport Direct has also won several awards over the years, including the Excellence in Governance with the Use of Information Technology Award in 2002.
Another time-saving citizen service has also been introduced. The Express Passport Delivery Service (EPDS) is a delivery option desk within the DFA complex aimed at first-time passport applicants. Now, instead of returning to the DFA office to claim their passports, they can simply have their passports delivered to their address.
“DFA Passport Direct and EPDS are services based on a unique business model of providing help to Filipinos. Clients so far are appreciative of our offers,” says Pilipinas Teleserv director for operations Jun Yupitun.
Pilipinas Teleserv has an impressive lineup of soon-to-be-launched innovative teleservice and web-based solutions that will once again capture the interest of consumers. Yupitun says the company is planning to provide front-end crowd management service to the DFA. On the other hand, the DFA’s Lucenario is seeking Pilipinas Teleserv’s help in its information dissemination campaign versus illegal passport applications and assistance in authentication services.
“Pilipinas Teleserv is always in constant lookout for other services to offer to the DFA and to other government agencies as well,” says David.
Pilipinas Teleserv is an all-Filipino call center service founded in 2000 by technopreneurs Yupitun, David, and Jeffrey Villanueva. The company is the major citizen service partner of the DFA. It also powers the National Statistics Office’s NSO Helpline Plus Hotline 737-1111 and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency’s Balik-Manggagawa Express Clearance Hotline 737-7777.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is the first government department founded after the declaration of the Philippine independence, with the “Sublime Paralytic,” Apolinario Mabini, as the first foreign affairs secretary appointed in June 23, 1898. DFA’s history is intimately intertwined with the country’s milestones, as it continues to advance the Philippines in areas of international recognition, foreign policies, and diplomatic relations.