A mob of applicants who jammed the Manila City Hall grounds on Thursday grew impatient at the efficiency of Department of Foreign Affairs consular staff manning the ambulant “passport-on-wheels” service, leading to a pushing, shoving and shouting exchange that turned unruly.
Some of the women applicants were reduced to tears at the difficulty of applying for their passports. One got squeezed between the crush of the crowd and the iron barrier.
The mobile passport service was intended to bring the processing of the travel document to the masses, or the so-called walk-in applicants who were not able to take advantage of the automated appointment system, but unforeseen or poorly planned procedural snags turned the experience into a punishing experience. It was all that the City Hall security and DFA personnel could do to keep the commotion from descending out of control.
Click and watch the video report at the top of this report.
