Passports database on track

Passports database on track

D.F.A. LOOKS TO PAPERLESS DOCUMENTATION

FOR HOLDERS, APPLICANTS

By Estrella Torres

Reporter

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has embarked on paperless passport documentation starting with the digital scanning of one million documents filed by 100,000 passport applicants last year. DFA assistant secretary for consular affairs Domingo Lucenario said the procedure seeks to lessen, if not eradicate totally, the rampant tampering of passports and travel documents. The latest technology would help the department to have a centralized database to store the names of passport holders and new applicants. It may be recalled that the government had difficulty tracing former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano after he was found  to be holding two passports—one ordinary and another as government official. Lucenario said since February 2006, the Consular Records Division (CRD) of the DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs has been scanning passport applications and their supporting documents. These documents include birth certificates, marriage contracts, death and divorce reports. “With the aid of technology, we can speedily address the consular needs of the Filipinos. Considering the volume of records, the Paperless Consular Recordkeeping has drastically enhanced our service, especially in catering to concerns such as loss of documents or confirming discrepancies in documents, as compared with the manual search for files in the store room,” Lucenario said. The DFA’s consular office on Roxas Boulevard receives some 3,000 to 5,000 passport applications a day. The number does not include passport applications in regional consular offices nationwide. The department has acquired four units of heavy-duty scanners being used from eight to 12 hours a day, six days a week. After the electronic scanning of documents, the files are labeled and stored in compact discs for easy retrieval of records. Lucenario said all passport applications filed in 2006 have been digitally scanned and stored, while the records for 2005 passport applicants are currently being stored in electronic database. The diplomatic and official passport application records for the last five years have already been stored in the electronic database of the DFA consular office, said Lucenario. Diplomatic passports are issued to diplomats and high-ranking officials, while official passports are used by government officials during official trips. He said the department also plans to digitize the passport databases of its Regional Consular Offices across the country.    http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/01012007/top_stories01.html