no pen needed

by year 2010, your green philippine passport will no longer be acknowledged even if its not yet expired. so for those who are planning to get a US or Schengen visa (which is usually valid for many years) you may want to have your passports renewed first. 

the new passport looks like this

its now machine-readable and the data are NOT anymore handwritten

applying for the new passport is easy. just go to passport direct website and follow the instructions. you may opt to use their door to door pick-up and delivery service for a hassle free procedure. it will only cost you Php1,300. however, you will still be required to make a personal appearance at DFA once your papers are ready. don't worry, once you applied through the door to door policy, your exact schedule will be announced and you will save a lot of time from waiting in line. 

last wednesday, the whole family was scheduled to appear at the DFA office. since i was still bed resting, i was not able to go... anyway, dave came home with a teeny weeny rant. 

before entering the DFA compound, a vendor approached and told them that they will be needing pens inside. since they did not bring any, the happy vendor was able to make business with them: one pen each. so they went inside, waited for their turn, signed some papers, print their thumb marks and done... the ballpen was not used at all! the funny thing was the ballpen transactions happened in front of a posh-looking guard (those wearing barongs instead of the regular uniforms). that manong gurad did not even bother to shoo-away the vendors and let them fool the people. i bet part of the profit goes to this manong guard. i know its just a pen but the thought of blatantly deceiving other people for money disturbs me. so people, you DO NOT NEED to buy a pen for your appearance.