of queues & technology

Hundreds of people in long snake-like queues at five in the morning, this was the scenario you’d see at the Department of Foreign Affairs this season. I needed a passport asap so I initially looked if the DFA had a website. When I googled passport in the pages from the Philippines, I found the government’s website (http://www.gov.ph/faqs/passport.asp) with information regarding the passport (i.e. what it is, its purpose, how to get it, the requirements & the payment rates & schedules). They even posted an online application form, which apparently is just a sample that you couldn’t use. I was still happy coz it was my first time to apply and they laid down the rules & requirements you need on how to get it. I procured all the requirements I needed including the birth certificate I applied for with the NSO online. So we decided to go to DFA at 5am to get a head start but apparently a couple of hundred people thought of doing the same thing. The DFA had shifted from the normal passport to a machine-readable one, that’s why processing and verification took several steps therefore the applicant would have to go to several windows only to be turned down for lack of requirements coz apparently different tellers have differebt standards in the documents they need to process your application.

While waiting in line, I heard people complaining about the services in the DFA. People commented how inefficient the system was & how there could have been a better way. Several commented on how they should have an online application like the one is NSO.

I silently agreed but also considered the repercussions of such process. I actually commend the DFA for trying to upgrade their technology in their information management. However, the transition creates revisions in the system that people would have to adjust to. The DFA are undermanned and with the new system, the employees themselves are also trying to adjust. Coordination between the employees and the applicants is important as this would affect not only the process but also the atmosphere. DFA has posted several notices advising the people on what to do and handing out leaflets and asking for their patience and understanding. If the applicants would just stay in their lines and maintain their temper, things can proceed smoothly. Even if the lines are long, each one would have their turn. Temper plays a major role in this long queues coz when one erupts, the fury spreads like wild fire.

What people see as a nuisance, I see as a first step towards a better system. True, it would be better if there would be an online application even if it would entail higher rates (like the one in NSO), as people value their time more and would not mind paying extra for the convenience that online transactions provide. However, the requirements of the personal appearance & fingerprinting would still have to be done in person in order to ensure the identity of the applicant. Another consideration would be the documents that have to be presented in the originals. If these forms can be submitted online, fraud can easily be committed, with the advent of photoshop, making it hard to authenticate such documents, unless the entire government system would have a database that can easily coordinate information from one branch to another. If the government can allocate resources in developing a central database for all the relevant public information, and maintain the integrity of that system, then the government can maximize its resources. The government should invest on information technology and the management of its public data, and I’m not talking about private information but public information contained in the governments records. Coordination between the government agencies is also very important so as not to duplicate transactions (i.e. the processor asked me to get a copy from the local civil registrar even if i gave them the one given to be by NSO). Employing IT & the proper management of this information system within the government system will definitely reduce processing time in half & in effect increase productivity that affects not only public transactions but also private operations.