Filipinos reminded not to deal with unaccredited agencies

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KOTA KINABALU: The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reiterated its advisory to Filipinos in Sabah against dealing with agencies it has not authorized to transact business for Filipinos in the area, particularly during its consular missions.

This was after the Embassy learned that an agency called “Who’s The Boss” and its so-called Sabah Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Association (SPOWWA) continue to allegedly victimize Filipinos in Sabah, asking for money in exchange for facilitating the issuance of Philippine passports, birth certificates and work permits.

Reports have reached the Embassy that the two outfits also allegedly spread misinformation that applicants need to go through agencies before being able to avail of the Embassy’s consular services.

“We would like to reiterate that ‘Who’s the Boss’ and SPOWWA are not accredited with nor recognized by the Embassy, and they are also not authorized to conduct consular services for Filipinos in Sabah. In this regard, any transaction with them may put our nationals at risk,” Consul General Medardo Macaraig said in a statement yesterday.

“We ask our nationals in Sabah to first check with the Embassy if an agent offering consular services to them is accredited with us,” he added.

The Embassy also points out that any Filipino who would like to avail of its services during its consular missions around Sabah does not need to go through any agency.

“They can just approach our consular teams with their completed forms and requirements, and directly deal with Embassy officials on their passport and other applications. Also, Filipino community members should remit any payment to the Embassy’s collecting officer, who is there at the venue,” Macaraig stated.

The fee for new passport applications and passport renewals is RM231 only, while that to replace lost passports is RM346.50 (for green and machine-readable passports) and RM577.50 (for ePassport).

The Embassy’s tentative schedules for its consular missions in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan are available in its website and Facebook page. The exact venues of these missions will be announced once they are available.