Foreign Service Officer Examinations Set

The Board of Foreign Service Examinations announces the holding of the 2017 FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER (FSO) EXAMINATION to recruit candidates for appointment to the position of Foreign Service Officer, Class IV.

Applicants for the examination must be knowledgeable on the economic, political and social conditions of the Philippines, and must possess not only facility in oral and written communications but the personality traits essential to the performance of the duties of Foreign Service Officers.

They must also be willing and able to accept assignments to any post where their services may be required. Applicants are advised to check the eligibility requirements to ensure that they meet each of them. No exemptions from the requirements shall be considered. Applicants who are found ineligible, or who have submitted incomplete application forms and requirements, shall not be allowed to take the examination, and their admission fees shall be forfeited.

The qualifying test is on May 21, 2017. The testing centers are in Bacolod City, Baguio City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Davao City, Iloilo City, General Santos City, Legazpi City, Lucena City, Metro Manila, San Fernando City (La Union), City of San Fernando (Pampanga), Tacloban City, Tuguegarao City, and Zamboanga City.

The BFSE reserves the right to modify the list of testing centers depending on the number of applicants at any testing center. Applicants should be natural-born citizens of the Phillipines and are permanent residents, they should not be more than 35 years of age on examination day (May 21), they should have graduated from a 4-year bachelor’s degree course or higher on or before prescribed due date in the submission of requirements. – Applicants should have undergone at least two years employment or further studies or a combination of both after graduating from college or university.

Application forms to be printed in long bond paper (8 ½ by 13 inches) can be downloaded from www.dfa.gov.ph or can be secured from main officer, regional offices of the DFA or from Philippine embassies and consulates abroad. Application forms shall be duly accomplished by the applicants and submitted in person from 05 February until 05 April 2017 at any Regional Consular Office or at Philippine Embassies or Consulates abroad, and not later than 12 April 2017 until 5:00 p.m. only at the Board of Foreign Service Examinations (BFSE) Secretariat, Second Floor, DFA Main Building, 2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.

Applications shall no longer be accepted beyond the set deadlines. The following shall be attached to the completed application forms: Photocopy of transcript of records from the college or university from which the degree was obtained, bearing the seal of the college or university. Applicants who attended post-graduate schools shall submit a copy of their transcript of records certified as true copy by said school, in addition to their college or university records. Transcript of records obtained from a foreign school shall be certified as true copy by the foreign school, with English translation, and duly authenticated by a Philippine Foreign Service Post exercising jurisdiction over the country of the foreign school; Photocopy of diploma or certificate of graduation from the college or university from which the degree was obtained, bearing the seal of the college or university.

Applicants who attended post-graduate schools shall submit a copy of their diploma or certificate of graduation certified as true copy by said school, in addition to their college diploma. Diplomas or certificates of graduation obtained from a foreign school shall be certified as true copy by the foreign school, with English translation, and duly authenticated by a Philippine Foreign Service Post exercising jurisdiction over the country of the foreign school; Proof of past and present employment/ further studies; Original birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) For those born abroad: Report of Birth at Post may be submitted in case no birth record is available at Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The Report o Birth shall be duly authenticated by the issuing Post.

A certification of non-availability of said birth certificate from the PSA shall be submitted along with the Report of Birth. For a Filipino citizen who has dual or multiple citizenships: a notarized affidavit stating that upon passing the examination, he/she intends to renounce his/her oath of allegiance to his/her other countries of citizenship; he/she must also submit a notarized affidavit stating that he/she is a permanent resident ofthe Philippines.

For married applicants: a Certified True Copy (CTC) of marriage contract from the PSA. If married to a foreigner, he/she must secure from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, through the Board of Foreign Service Examinations, authority to take the FSO Examinations.

Ten (10) pieces of photographs: 4.5cm. x 3.5cm.; colored, with white background; taken within three (3) months prior to filing of application; printed on good quality photo paper; in standard close-up shot; in bare face; showing the full frontal view of the face of the applicant; with the applicant’s full and handwritten (not computer generated) name tag in the format: First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, and extension name (if any) and signature over printed name (For photograph details, please refer to CSC webpage – http://csc.gov.ph/2014-02-27-07-36- 50/2014-02-27-07-37-12.html (item no. 2); and, Two (2) self-addressed letter envelopes with stamp/s and marked as “priority mail”; and Copies of two (2) valid identification cards (IDs), with the originals to be presented upon submission.

Applications with incomplete documentary requirements shall not be accepted. A nonrefundable admission fee of five hundred pesos (P500.00) shall be collected from those who shall take the 2017 FSO Qualifying Test only upon inspection and acceptance of their application. (PIA/RG Alama/DFA)