The Department of Foreign Affairs is pleased to announce the holding of the 2009 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examinations. The Regional Consular Office is now accepting applications from interested candidates.

Candidates must be (1) Filipino citizens, (2) less than 36 years of age (born after May 10, 1973) and (3) graduates of at least a four-year college degree course.

Deadline for filing the application is 20 March 2009.

The Qualifying Test is scheduled on 10 May 2009 in Cagayan de Oro City and other testing centers. The Qualifying Test covers (1) English grammar and correct usage; (2) reading comprehension; (3) logical reasoning; (4) quantitative reasoning / data interpretation; and (5) leadership/ knowledge of management concepts. The Qualifying Test will be administered by the Civil Service Commission.

The Qualifying Test will be given in Baguio City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Davao City, Iloilo City, Legazpi City, Quezon City, San Fernando City (La Union), and Zamboanga City. Tests will also be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Vienna, Austria; and Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Those who obtain a passing grade of at least 80% in the Qualifying Test will undergo a Preliminary Interview (18-19 July 2009), a Written Test (22-24 July 2009), an Oral Test (11-13 November 2009), and a Psychological Test (23-27 November 2009). All schedules are tentative.

Please visit the 2009 FSO Examinations Announcement issued by the Board of Foreign Service Examinations for more details.

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RCO Cagayan de Oro will conduct mobile passport services in Oroquieta City on 14-15 March 2009 upon the invitation of Misamis Occidental Governor Loreto Leo S. Ocampos.

Venue will be the Misamis Occidental Provincial Cultural and Farmers' Training Center at the Provincial Capitol.

Contact person and LGU passport coordinator is Atty. Irene Zapatos from the Office of the Vice-Governor.

Coordination with the Province of Misamis Occidental has been very smooth and the RCO anticipates a successful mobile visit with a large turn-out.

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The Department of Foreign Affairs is pleased to announce the holding of the 2008 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examinations. The Regional Consular Office is now accepting applications from interested candidates. The deadline for filing applications is 04 April 2008.

Candidates must be (1) Filipino citizens, (2) less than 36 years of age (born on January 1, 1973 or later) and (3) graduates of at least a four-year college degree course.

The Qualifying Test is scheduled on 04 May 2008 in Cagayan de Oro City and other testing centers. The Qualifying Test covers (1) English grammar and correct usage - 40%; (2) reading comprehension - 20%; (3) logical reasoning - 15%; (4) quantitative reasoning / data interpretation -10%; and (5) leadership/ knowledge of management concepts - 15%. The Qualifying Test will be administered by the Civil Service Commission.

The testing centers for the Qualifying Test are in Baguio City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Davao City, San Fernando City (La Union), Legazpi City, Metro Manila, Iloilo City, Zamboanga City. Tests are also held in Washington D.C, USA, Vienna, Austria and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Those who pass the FSO Qualifying Test with a rating of at least 80% shall be qualified to take the FSO Written Examinations scheduled on 20-22 August 2008 (tentative).

Please read the FSO Examinations Announcement issued by the Board of Foreign Service Examinations for further information.

To apply, submit to RCO Cagayan de Oro a duly accomplished Application Form with
a. Photocopy of transcript of records from college or university, diploma or certificate of graduation
b. Birth certificate issued by the National Statistics Office, and if appropriate, copy of naturalization papers or Philippine passport;
c. One (1) 2in. x 2in. photograph, four (4) 1in. x 1in. photographs taken within six (6) months before the date of the examination, showing the full frontal view of the face of the applicant;
d. Two (2) 1-1/2in. x 2in. black and white or color studio-taken photographs, taken within six (6) months before the date of the examination, showing the full frontal view of the face of the applicant with a name tag (i.e. Juan M. dela Cruz, Jr.) (photocopied, scanned and digitally enhanced pictures shall not be accepted); and
e. Two (2) self-addressed and self–stamped envelopes marked as priority mail.

Copies of the FSO Examinations Announcement and Application Form are available to interested parties at RCO Cagayan de Oro. The RCO can fax these documents to interested parties upon request.

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The DFA Regional Consular Office (RCO) in Cagayan de Oro City regrets to announce the suspension of the releasing of passports next week, January 14-18, 2008. It will announce later when the releasing of passports will resume.

Applicants who were scheduled for releasing of their passports on these dates (Jan 14 to Jan 18) are advised NOT to come Cagayan de Oro City to claim their passports.

However, some applicants whose passports arrived from Manila that are due for releasing on Monday, 14 January 2008 may claim their passports. A list of the passports available for releasing is posted at its website www.dfa.gov.ph/cdo.

The delay in the release of passports is due to technical and organizational difficulties encountered in Manila, where all machine readable passports are centrally produced.

The regional consular offices cannot release passports unless Manila sends them the finished passports. RCO Cagayan de Oro is constantly following up the matter with Manila.

The RCO will post the names of applicants on its website as soon as their passports arrive from Manila, so that they can claim their passports as soon as possible. Applicants are therefore encouraged to visit its website for latest updates on passports available for releasing.

The RCO requests the public to please bear with the inconvenience.

Cagayan de Oro City
12 January 2008

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RCO staff Mr. Jefferson Talam (right) assists the first applicant, Barangay Chairman Pedro Sinconiegue (left) from Plaridel, Misamis Occidental, affix his thumbprint on the machine generated passport application form.

The Regional Consular Office (RCO) in Cagayan de Oro shifted to the new Machine Readable Passport (MRP) last Thursday, 22 November 2007. The Department of Foreign Affairs expects that by the first half of December 2007, all its twelve (12) regional offices shall have shifted to the MRP. Earlier in September this year, the Department launched the MRP in the Home Office in Manila.

With the shift to the new system, all passport applicants, whether first time or renewal applicants, must now personally appear before a consular officer at the RCO to sign the machine generated passport application form and affix her or his thumbprint.

The new maroon passport has more security features than the old green passport, and conforms to international ICAO standards for machine readable passports.

The production of the new maroon-colored machine readable passports is centralized in Manila. As a result, the processing time will be longer than before— regular processing will take about twenty five (25) working days or five weeks, while express processing will take some fifteen (15) working days or three weeks.

Furthermore, the applicant’s ID picture must now have a royal blue background, and not the usual white background. It is preferable to have an IP picture that is printed on Matte paper. The DFA will decline applications that fail the picture requirements.

All other requirements remain unchanged, including the passport fees. The fees for regular and express processing remain at P500 (25 working days) and P750 (15 working days), respectively.

Holders of the old green passports are advised that their passports remain valid until expiry. They are advised to refrain from renewing them at the moment unless necessary, to avoid a sudden avalanche of applications that can overwhelm and bog down the new system.

Those who will be traveling are advised to provide adequate allowance for the longer passport processing times (5 weeks/3weeks) in their schedules, and to apply for or renew their expiring passports well ahead of their travel dates.

Members of the Mobile Team (from left) Charity Tagucon, Florame Bayla, Frankson Ong, Fatima Diema Tabio, and Raida Salacop in action at the Misamis Occidental Provincial Capitol Compound.

The Regional Consular Office (RCO) in Cagayan de Oro provided mobile passport and other consular services on 10-11 November 2007 at the Misamis Occidental Provincial Cultural and Farmers' Training Center (PCFTC) located at the Provincial Capitol Compound in Oroquieta City.

The RCO team, led by Officer-in-Charge Mardomel Celo D. Melicor, visited Oroquieta City upon the invitation of Misamis Occidental Governor Loreto Leo S. Ocampos, President of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP). The Province celebrated its 78th foundation anniversary with many activities through the month of November 2007.

Governor Ocampos personally visited the consular outreach team in the morning of Saturday, 10 November, shortly after the ten (10) counters opened to serve the first applicants. He welcomed the RCO outreach team to his province and expressed his satisfaction at the efficient organization of the event by his team led by Provincial Accountant Atty. Helen Tenchavez. Mr. Melicor thanked Governor Ocampos for the excellent arrangements on site to ensure a smooth and orderly procedure, as well as for the generous hospitality that included a visit to the Dolphin Island at the Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP) in nearby Sinacaban town, the prime eco-tourism attraction of the Province.

For his part, Oroquieta City Mayor Jorge T. Almonte called up Mr. Melicor from Manila to extend his felicitations on behalf of the city government and to wish the consular outreach team a pleasant and successful sojourn in the capital city.

During a press interview for the Provincial Government's local TV program, Mr. Melicor explained that the Department of Foreign Affairs is committed to bring passport services as near to the people as possible, and welcomes every opportunity to conduct mobile passport services in the region. He announced that the RCO will be launching very soon the maroon machine-readable passports in lieu of the present green passports.

The turnout this year was rather moderate compared to the turnout there in 2005. The power blackout that engulfed Oroquieta City and neighboring municipalities over the week-end prevented applicants from photocopying their documents. The prospects of securing the newer passport by postponing application or renewal to a slightly later date can also be considered another factor that affected the turnout.