The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) opened several temporary off-site passport service (TOPS) sites to help address the current backlog and satisfy the country’s increasing demand for passport processing.
In a statement, House Ways and Means Committee chair Joey Salceda cited that only around PHP1 billion of the PHP5.5-billion service contracting budget has been distributed to service contractors such as bus and jeepney operators.
Tour and travel operators expressed an interest in collaborating with the Department of Tourism (DOT) to develop directions and strategies for capturing the market of fully vaccinated tourists.