23 passport fixers nabbed in Metro Manila

The Southern Police District arrests 23 persons who allegedly act as fixers selling passport appointment slots for as much as P10,000. Photo by Dexter Cabalza

Twenty-three fixers selling passport appointment slots for as much as P10,000 were arrested in separate operations in southern Metro Manila on Wednesday.

The suspects were collared in entrapment operations at Gate 3 Plaza in Taguig, in Libertad, Pasay, and at Yah Suy travel agency, which was just across the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Aseana office at the corner of Macapagal Avenue and Bradco Street in Parañaque.

They will be charged with estafa and violation of Republic Act No. 9485, (Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007), which penalizes them with a six-year jail term and P20,000 fine.

Senior Supt. Joel Pernito, deputy director of the Southern Police District, said authorities in cooperation with DFA, conducted surveillance from Feb. 15 to 16 and confirmed that men who  introduce themselves as DFA employees were selling online passport appointments.

In a press conference, Pernito said the suspects have two modus: offering reserve slots they got from their contacts inside DFA and arranging applicants to be accommodated in the “courtesy lane” with the use of endorsement letter from a ranking government official.

Applicants who can avail of the courtesy lane which expedites passport processing are senior citizens, minors, single parents and their children, pregnant women, persons with disability and overseas Filipino workers.

Complainant

A 24-year-old complainant said she paid P10,000 after a transaction on Facebook. She said she was able to get an appointment on Wednesday after her name was listed among the persons in an endorsement letter of an official in an agency under the Office of the President.

Pernito did not disclose the identity of the official and the particular agency since they were still verifying if the endorsement was legitimate or “recycled.”

Authorities were also investigating the involvement of the owner of Yah Suy travel agency.

In another transaction, an employee of Yah Suy asked for P7,000 for initial payment and asked them to fill out a piece of paper containing the information needed to register a passport appointment online. The fixers would wait for hours or days until a slot opens and then input the information of their victim-applicant.

DFA passport division director Ricarte Abejuel III said that “based on our initial investigation we have not found any employee guilty” in conniving with the fixers. “But I do not want to jump into conclusion while police investigation is ongoing.”

Abejuel said DFA employees found guilty would be slapped with criminal and administrative charges.

The DFA official reminded the public that passport appointments are always free. The new biometric passport costs P950 for a regular 15 to 20-day processing, and an additional P250 for express processing.

“When somebody approaches you for a fee for an appointment, that should be a red flag that it’s a scam,” Abejuel said. “No DFA employee will solicit money from you inside or outside the  DFA office so you can get an appointment.”

He asked the public for “added patience” as the DFA tries to meet the huge demand for passport appointments.

Aside from Saturday and “passport on wheel” appointments, Abejuel said the DFA would open eight additional offices in Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna. Davao del Norte and Misamis Occidental to accommodate more passport applicants./lb