Passport Lack Derails Pinoy ‘Embassy on Wheels’

JEDDAH, 27 March 2008 — The “Embassy on Wheels” in the Eastern Province has ground to a halt due to the continuing shortage problem in the supply of passport booklets from Manila.

Held usually at the Al-Bustan Hotel in Alkhobar, the “Embassy on Wheels” was postponed starting yesterday until the inventory of passport booklets reaches an adequate level as required for such an outreach service.

“We have made a request to the Department of Foreign Affairs for a sufficient number of passports to cover the delayed applications in Riyadh, as well as those that may be coming from the Eastem Region,” said Charge d’Affaires Nestor N. Padalhin said in a press statement.

He said that while the problem is being experienced, preparations are going on for the issuance of the new, machine readable passports .

To avoid hassles, passport applicants and liaison officers of large Filipino-employing companies are advised to contact the Philippine Embassy’s Consular Section in Riyadh phone (482-3816), fax (488-3945) or e-mail ([email protected]) for updates.