I already have forgotten how frustrating it is to deal with any Philippine government agency. Not that I had tormenting experiences with them before in fact a lot of my encounters would even be considered almost delightful, almost a miracle. Although I know the Philippine "culture" on paperworks, I have always practiced the "doing it right" when it comes to applications & procedures because I have forever believed that when you do things right, everything will be okay.
But here I am, 14 thousand kilometers away & tens of French paperworks after, the frustration came creeping back but not because there's a long line to queue or because we're bothered about the bored & disturbed employees who can't smile behind the glass window radiating a silent power among us. It's because of the incompetence & the incomprehensible system that makes you wonder why is it sometimes so freaking impossible to have a smooth processing with our government agencies. Voila, the Philippine Embassy of Paris, bow.
After the long process of gathering my Philippine documents & acquiring my French nationality, I was ready to file my Philippine Citizenship & Re-asquisition Act of 2003, or RA 9225. I thought it would be a breeze. I thought being Filipino again in paper is easy for a Filipino by blood & birth. I normally don't overreact but I can hear you saying, "only in da Philippines," or "what do you want the Philippine nationality for?!"
I just want to be Filipino again in paper. Applying for my French nationality was way much easier because the French governement is precise on their procedures. I'll be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. I am torn between trusting the Embassy or processing it in Manila when I get home. Please do bestow priceless information on processing the RA 9225 in the Philippines.
But what really ticked me off is that I had to have my left & right sideviews picture taken for nothing.
But here I am, 14 thousand kilometers away & tens of French paperworks after, the frustration came creeping back but not because there's a long line to queue or because we're bothered about the bored & disturbed employees who can't smile behind the glass window radiating a silent power among us. It's because of the incompetence & the incomprehensible system that makes you wonder why is it sometimes so freaking impossible to have a smooth processing with our government agencies. Voila, the Philippine Embassy of Paris, bow.
After the long process of gathering my Philippine documents & acquiring my French nationality, I was ready to file my Philippine Citizenship & Re-asquisition Act of 2003, or RA 9225. I thought it would be a breeze. I thought being Filipino again in paper is easy for a Filipino by blood & birth. I normally don't overreact but I can hear you saying, "only in da Philippines," or "what do you want the Philippine nationality for?!"
- Just after receiving my French nationality last July, I requested right away the RA 9225 Application Form No. 1. I was told that it is a week processing.
- Three months after receiving my French passport & having my Certificate of Naturalization translated, all photocopies of required documents are neatly filed & organized in order in a big white envelope. It arrived Paris after 3 to 4 working days.
- On the 5th day, I called them to confirm reception of my file, asked when I can follow up to know our oath taking schedule. She asked me some questions regarding my documents then I was told to call after 4 days.
- On the 4th day, I diligently called to have some good news, after all, it will almost be a week. After having my file 5 days in hand, I was informed that my application form is the old one & that they will need to send me the new one. Fortunately, first for calling them back & they mailed it right away & I received it the following monday, filled it up & sent it back without delay.
- On the same week, they confirmed receipt of my application form & I didn't hear anything from them for 2 weeks.
- Last friday, after a month, which is supposedly a week processing, I receive news that to continue the evaluation of my file, I have to send all original copies of documents submitted by mail.
- Yesterday, I called the Embassy to assure that the original documents I need to send are my birth certifcate from NSO & my Philippine passport. They matter of factly told me they won't need the French passport but just the original copy of our French Certificate of Naturalization & continued saying that I cannot have an Oath Taking schedule without this. I was actually assured of how ridiculous & clueless on their part to ask for this one valuable document. The French Tribunal handed us only one original copy with a "guard it with your life" advice. Even after saying that repeatedly & mentioning the checklist found on the Bureau of Immigration official website that only a photocopy of foreign documents are required, my plea fell on deaf ears, without a justifiable reason for this ridiculous demand. On top of that, we were asked to actually explain to the Consul why we cannot send our original Certificate of Naturalization by mail adding, "we're not keeping it naman, we'll give it back to you."
I just want to be Filipino again in paper. Applying for my French nationality was way much easier because the French governement is precise on their procedures. I'll be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. I am torn between trusting the Embassy or processing it in Manila when I get home. Please do bestow priceless information on processing the RA 9225 in the Philippines.
But what really ticked me off is that I had to have my left & right sideviews picture taken for nothing.
