T he Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles will hold a Consular Outreach Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 08 November 2008 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) located at 1701 4th Street SW Albuquerque, NM 87102. The outreach program is undertaken in cooperation with the Filipino American Foundation of New Mexico (FAFNM).

The following Consular services will be rendered:

1.  Applications for Machine Readable Passport (Cost: $50)

2.  Applications for the retention and re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship pursuant to Republic Act 9225 or Dual Citizenship Law (Cost: $50).  Oath-taking will be scheduled on the same day for qualified applicants.

3.  Notarization of documents (Cost: $25) will be accepted but this will be processed in Los Angeles and returned to the applicant by mail at an additional cost of $6.

The Consulate will only accept payments in cash, postal money order or cashier’s check. Personal checks will not be accepted.

Application forms and requirements can be downloaded from the Consulate’s website at www.philippineconsulatela.org.

In view of the anticipated high volume of applicants and in order to ensure an orderly flow of operations, this Consular outreach shall be guided by the following:

1.  All Applicants for any of the above consular services are requested to set up an appointment with the Consulate either through fax (213) 639-0990 or through email at losangelespcg@earthlink.net.

2.  Passport Applicants should send an advance copy of their passport application forms and data page (bearing the name and photo) of their passports to the Consulate either by fax or by email. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

3.  Dual Citizenship Applicants should also send an advance copy of their application forms and supporting documents. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

4.  Confirmed appointments of all applicants will be posted at the Consulate’s website (www.philippineconsulatela.org).

5.  While walk-in applicants will also be entertained, priority will be given to those with confirmed appointments.

For general information, interested parties may wish to call the Consulate (Attn: Gil Villamin at (213) 637-3021) or FAFNM (Attn: Ms. Cora Romillo at (505) 702-9855).

For the information of the public, the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in the U.S. started to accept and to process applications for Machine Readable Passports (MRP) on June 2, 2008. This is in compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for its member states, including the Philippines, to issue MRPs not later than 1 April 2010.

While valid green Philippine passports will still be honored as bona-fide travel documents until they expire, Filipinos with the Machine Readable Passports will benefit in terms of document security and integrity and ease of travel.

Since applications received by the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the U.S. will be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila via diplomatic pouch, it will take six weeks for a passport to be released to the applicants, from the time the application is accepted. Personal appearance for all will be required for data verification, finger-printing and signature capture. Applications by mail will no longer be accepted.

In compliance with the new photo requirements for the MRP, applicants are requested to visit the Consulate’s website. # # #

Information Section

Philippine Consulate General

Trunkline: 213 639 0980

Directline: 213 637 3028

Website: www.philippineconsulatela.org