Ambassador Santos and QPost acting chairman al-Hajri sign an agreement to deliver Filipinos' passports at a cost of QR25.
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
Filipino expatriates in Qatar will soon find it easier and convenient to receive their passports (renewed or newly issued) at an affordable cost.
The Philippine embassy in Doha and Qatar Postal Services Company (QPost) have signed an agreement to deliver passports of Filipino expatriates either to their homes or offices.
Ambassador Wilfredo Santos and QPost acting chairman of the board and managing director Abdulla Slash al-Hajri led the signing ceremony of the delivery services agreement at the Barzan Tower on Monday. It was attended by other QPost and embassy officials and staff.
According to Santos, Qatar's national courier service will charge a minimal fee of QR25 for the delivery of every passport.
“This service will make passport application more convenient for Filipinos in Qatar,” the envoy pointed out.
Santos said the arrangement will also help lessen foot traffic and decongest the embassy.
“It will have more working space for conducting other official business transactions,” he added.
The envoy also thanked former Philippine ambassador to Qatar Crescente Relacion, as well as vice-consul Kristine Bautista and other embassy officials, for initiating the project.
Quoting al-Hajri, the envoy said QPost will deliver on its commitments provided that clients complete their information accurately by specifying the street address, zone number, and building number.
Santos also thanked the Qatar government for its hospitality, hosting nearly 200,000 Filipino expatriates “who stand to benefit from the provision of passport delivery services in the country.”
As the sixth Philippine ambassador to Qatar, Santos reiterated his commitment to Filipino expatriates in the country to further enhance the embassy's services, improving its efficiency and increase customer satisfaction.
For his part, al-Hajri thanked the envoy for giving QPost the opportunity to handle the embassy's passport courier service as it expands its market reach to include the diplomatic community.
