29 July 2021, Calgary – With the gradual lifting of COVID-19 public health restrictions in Alberta beginning June 2021 and the transfer of the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary to its new office the month before, the PCG has been processing more in-person applicants with confirmed appointments in recent months.

The PCG was able to process 3,224 consular services in June 2021, compared to the 1,181 applications it processed in April 2021 when the PCG was still at its former office, for an almost 275 percent increase in the PCG’s total number of processed consular services per month.

For passport services alone, the PCG processed 2,524 applications in June, almost 360 percent higher than the 708 passports processed in April when the COVID-19 public health measures were still in place and the PCG was in a smaller office. The PCG was also able to conduct back-to-back passport outreach missions in Edmonton, Alberta, on 22-24 June and 27-29 June 2021.

“Starting June, the PCG has begun to offer 100 passport slots per day that applicants can book at www.passport.gov.ph. This will be further increased to 122 slots daily beginning 16 August 2021,” Consul General Patron added.

He also explained that with the new Global Online Appointment System (GOAS) of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, which the PCG uses for its passport appointment, passport processing in the PCG can now be completed in about ten (10) minutes.

Aside from increasing the number of passport appointment slots, the PCG started accepting in July 2021 in-person applicants for non-passport services, i.e., notarial and authentication of documents, civil registration, and NBI verification, who are able to book  appointments at http://www.calendly.com/yycpcg/nonpassport.

Likewise, the number of applicants taking their oath as Filipino citizens under RA9225 in the PCG has increased to 15-20 people per day.

While the PCG now accepts an increased number of in-person applicants with appointments in its new office, the 16 months of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a backlog for passport and dual citizenship applications, which may take the PCG a little more time to fully address.