By Mary Jane R. Amarado
ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has recently established a Temporary Passport
Enrolment Center (TPEC) at the One-Stop Processing Center (OSPC ) in Bongao,
Tawi-Tawi for Sabah deportees and displaced persons (DPs).
In a report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz and Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Carmelita Dimzon, Hassan
Gabra Jumdain, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Regional Director and head
of the OSPC Operations in Sulu &Tawi-Tawi said the establishment of the
TPEC was the result of meetings and consultation with different member-agencies
involved in the OSPC and the Memorandum of Agreement signed on April 30, 2013
bearing the commitment of the different duty bearers
"The undertaking
was a joint effort of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), OWWA,
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), DFA, Crisis Management
Committee and the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi through former Governor,
Sadikul Sahali, and his son, newly elected Governor Nurbert Sahali,"
Jumdain stated.
According to Jumdain, DFA Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis
assured OSPC duty-bearers of the foreign affairs of the department’s continuing
support and commitment to the success of the OSPC in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi towards
the fulfillment of its mandate to address the needs of Filipino nationals from
Sabah.
The TPEC accommodates passport applicants, especially deportees
and displaced persons who plan to return to Sabah for re-employment, regular
passport applicants, and Hajj applicants, including crew members of sea vessels
engaged in barter trading.
It is composed of a seven members led by Director Evangeline
Cayongcat. The team process passport applications from 9:00 am to 6:00
pm at the Provincial Capitol, Mondays to Fridays. To date, TEPC has
already served more than 600 passport applicants.
A passport applicant must present a birth certificate duly
authenticated by the National Statistics Office; DSWD certification attesting
to the status of the applicant as a Sabah deportee; and a National Commission
for Muslim Filipinos certificate of tribal affiliation. The TPEC charges P950
for every new passport application and a processing fee of P1,200 for passport
renewal.
The OSPC is a special program of the DOLE through the OWWA which
serves as a venue for the implementation of an integrated and systematic
welfare assistance program for returning overseas Filipino workers and
repatriates from Malaysia.
Jumdain urges his
fellow Tawi-Tawians to take advantage of the DFA’s service, saying that the
TPEC team will hold its special operations only for a period of one month. (FPG/MJRA/OWWA9/PIA9/ALT)