MANILA, Philippines -- Pilipinas Teleserv reported a surge in the number of passport applications via its call center after the service was opened to first-time applicants last November.

Teleserv provides phone-based passport application and delivery services for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Instead of lining up at DFA?s offices in Pasay City, applicants can lodge their applications via phone although they are still required to make a personal appearance at DFA to affix their thumbprints.

The service was previously available only to renewing passport holders. Teleserv expanded it to cater to first-time passport applicants as well, coinciding with the introduction of new machine-readable passports from DFA.

?Since November, the number of calls we get has picked up by 47 percent,? said Raffy David, marketing and quality assurance director for Teleserv, which is a locally owned call center firm.

David, however, did not mention an exact figure due to non-disclosure agreements with the DFA. He expects the number to increase further as DFA makes the new passport available in regional offices.

?To our knowledge, DFA has not fully introduced it outside of Metro Manila,? he said.

He added that Teleserv has augmented its workforce by as much as 50 percent in the area of handling passport applications. The company operates two facilities in Quiapo, Manila, employing more than 700 workers.