Philippines Embassy

It’s more fun in the Philippines! Yes, BUT the same can’t be said for the Philippines Embassy. hehe. Word to the wise, factor in at least 1.5 hours for any visit to the embassy, whether it be Visa Processing or Passport renewable.
After signing up to renew my passport over 5 months ago (!!!), I finally got the opportunity to come to the embassy to submit my paperwork.
Relative to the US Embassy, which is like visiting a fortress, the Philippine Embassy is like visiting someone’s home… Security is extremely lax, almost to the point of welcoming. Simply, submit your appointment confirmation at the front desk, get your number, and your way.
After short walk from the front gate, you end up at a relatively large waiting area. To my surprise, the waiting area and processing counters are located outdoors! Fortunately, there were enough fans and outdoor cooling units to make the wait bearable. The system for processing applicants worked well (number calling system determined by alphabetical order of the applicants for that day), but was almost slowed down by the applicants themselves, some of whom didn’t have (i) the necessary papers, (ii) understood the requirements or (iii) had photocopies of their key documents. Ahh! I really commend the Embassy staff for being so nice and patient. However, I do recommend that the Embassy use two lines for processing for all services given. This is so one person doesn’t hold up the line for everyone else.
The other area I take issue with the embassy, more than the waiting time, is why do all payments need to be made in cash? All government institutions, particularly the Embassy, should give patrons the opportunity pay with major credit cards. There is already a precedent in the Philippines where government agencies take a cut of cash transactions: the Airport Terminal fee in NAIA, the environmental fee in Boracay, etc… Please change this policy. Simply put, cash transactions are difficult to trace and harder to account for.
In terms of looks, the Philippines embassy falls woefully short of the embassy of its ASEAN neighbors, Thailand and Indonesia. Given the large number of the Philippine workers in Singapore, particularly in the service industry, more should be done to improve the Embassy itself and the services.