DFA stops foreign travels amid cash crunch

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. ordered a stop to foreign travels in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as it bared the depletion of a revolving fund for the printing of passports.

Locsin said the DFA already owed the state-owned Apo Production Unit some P388 million for the printing of passport booklets because the fund was eaten up by travel allowances, insurance and other expenses.

Under the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, the DFA may charge a service fee of not more than P250 for the processing and issuance of passports requiring special consideration, waiver or issuance beyond regular office hours. —TINA G. SANTOS