Ronaldo Z. Concha JEDDAH — The Philippine Consulate General has called on all Filipinos in the Kingdom to apply for the ePassport as soon as possible. Consul Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan, head of the Consulate Consular Section, said all non-machine readable Philippine passports (green and maroon) would be phased out on Nov. 24, 2015, in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Usudan said the consulate would extend passports for one year until Oct. 30 this year and extensions after then will be for less than a year. “No passport will be extended beyond Oct. 31, 2015” Usudan said. Meanwhile, the consular mobile team along with representatives from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Security System and PAG-IBIG Fund conducted their consular mobile services to Yanbu and Taif recently. Usudan said the team was able to process 208 new passport issuances and renewals, one Travel Document, four other passport procedures, 26 documents and other services and notarial work in Yanbu on February. In Taif, Usudan said 318 Filipinos were able to apply, renew and extend their passport, complete 24 notarial procedures, four authentications, two applications for marriage and 13 miscellaneous procedures. The Consular Mobile Services (CMS) is part of the Philippine Consulate's activities to reach out to more Filipinos working in the Kingdom, Usudan said. Usudan thanked leaders and members of various Filipino community organizations in Yanbu and Taif for their support while their team was dispensing mobile services. The consul announced that the team would be conducting more mobile services at Al-Hamdan Hotel in Tabuk on April 24-26. EOW Serves 376 in Khafji Also the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh recently visited the border town of Ras Al Khafji for its 11th Embassy on Wheels consular outreach mission this year. The mission extended a total of 376 consular transactions to the Filipino community there. The six-member embassy team was led by Consul-General Marshall Louis Alferez. The mission, on March 21-22, processed 338 passport renewals, 16 passport extensions, 20 notarials, one Travel Document issuance, and one report of birth. Volunteers from the Filipino community in Khafji helped the team. A small town only 20 minutes from the Kuwait border with Saudi Arabia, Khafji is home to about 1,400 Filipino workers and their families, most of whom are employed in the medical sector and in oil and gas projects. “Our regular outreach missions are aimed at Filipinos in far-flung areas, such as Khafji, as they are the ones who find it difficult to come to Riyadh or to our regular missions in Al-Khobar. We hope to visit more small cities with a considerable size of Filipino nationals in the future,” remarked Consul-General Alferez. The next “Embassy on Wheels” will be in Al-Khobar on April 11-12 at the Al Jazeera International School in Dammam.
