DFA Festival Mall, Alabang this is a PSA - your entry guard…read morei unnecessarily sarcastic and rude 1. A woman in front of me, obviously a 1st timer, showed the screen of her phone seeming showing she has an online appoint, she even said "online po", your guard felt the need to say "natural, hindi ka nman makakapunta kung hindi online" and that was not said in a courteous/informative tone, it was rude and sarcastic. 2. The person manning the Releasing area is again very unprofessional, rude and unnecessarily hot headed, a man went back on the exact date it showed on his papers to claim his passport, he was frustrated because he went back on the date stamped on his paper, but was informed that passport may not be available yet, this understandably frustrated that man as he said, he is not always available and cancelled other plans to claim his passport, your employee chose to tell him "hanggang 6pm pa ang operating hours, pointed at the date saying June 18 and says, yang date na yan, pwdeng maghapon pa yan" once again in a very rude manner, making the man waiting look stupid. mind you, he also raised his voice, showed obvious frustration and continued to point out the "release" date and insisted that it meant whole day. if your release date could be interpreted until EOD, why not indicate the next day instead as the release date? that's the most simple way to not have anyone claiming on the exact date too early. You are part of government services, your service are not a GIFT. It is paid for and funded by the same people your employees are being rude to. Have a little decency.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines Facebook page at…read more https://www.facebook.com/dfaphl/ " You don't have to worry about scheduling a passport appointment if you are a senior citizen, pregnant woman, solo parent, a minor (7 years old or younger), PWD, or OFW, since the DFA has a courtesy lane for you. Know more about availing of our courtesy lane facility in this link: https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/courtesy-lane-facility-availment #PHPassport #DFAinAction " I needed to renew my passport along with my two sons ages 7 and 9 and decided to take advantage of the "courtesy lane" ... BAD decision and I'm very disappointed how badly DFA - NCR South executed their "courtesy lane." You don't have to schedule an appointment but it's better if you do since DFA's Courtesy Lane is a joke. Alabang branch opens at 10:00am, we arrived at 10:20am on Wednesday to renew our passport. We were told to come back at 2:00pm. What's the point in having a courtesy lane if we had to come back 3.5 hours after?!?! Much better solution is not having a courtesy walk-in lane, but a separate appointment system for those seniors, pwd and children under 7 so there won't be a long wait and processing will be more efficient. The Passport processing fee is 950.00 PHP for regular processing and 1200.00 for expedited processing, but since we used the "courtesy lane," all three of us HAD TO PAY the 1200.00 each instead of just 950.00, including my 7-year old son even though on the DFA's website, it states: "Senior citizens, PWDs, solo parents and their minor children, pregnant women, and OFWs have the option to choose from regular or expedited processing of their passport application. The companions of the senior citizens and PWDs, minors seven (7) years old and below, their parents and minor siblings are to be assessed expedited processing fee because they are not entitled to use the courtesy lane; they are accomodated for their convenience." DFA employees who are processing paperwork need to be aware of these information since obviously, the lady (who is allergic to smiling) on Step 1 window insisted I pay 1200.00 each for the 3 passports when in fact I could have paid 950.00 for my 7-year old. So, when going to DFA expect the following: - slow process - lots of waiting - overcrowded - unhappy employees (they are allergic to smiling) Some helpful tips: - make an appointment - do NOT use courtesy lane - arrive early - make copies of all documents required and even documents that aren't required ahead of time since they'll find way to make extra money by having you make copies on-site

Every couple of years, I dread having to renew my license mostly because the renewal centers are…read moreusually hot, have long lines and are in the most random places. So when a colleague of mine told me how fast it took her to renew her license, I made sure I headed there when it was time for me to renew mine. Parking: big check. Because it's located along the row of auto shops with several parking areas in front of it, it was so easy to get secure parking. No need to suck-up to the watch-your-car boys and worry if they'll still be there watching out for your car when you go back two hours after. Ventilation: double check. The renewal center is in an enclosed area, so I was hoping there would at least be wall fans inside. Lucky me, there was air-conditioning and it was actually working (not like in other government offices, sad to say). Absence of a line: bold check. Uh, when I entered, it was just me and two more guys in there at 2:30 in the afternoon. Service: golden check. The flow was so efficient, with the windows and steps actually one after the other. The staff were pleasant and courteous. I was out of there in 20 minutes tops. If this is how I'll renew my license every time, well, I wouldn't be dreading it at all.

I have so much respect and admiration for this rehab center and the staff behind its operations…read more There are people in my life whom have had to deal with self-care/recovery issues and I was so relieved to have SELF look after them. I really believe in their program and you can trust that your loved ones will be treated well here. The Batangas facility is expansive, tidy, clean and there's no shortage of activities for patients to engage in. Loved ones are also able to attend activities and are considered part and parcel of the healing process.