Press Release
May 15, 2017

SENATORS APPROVE NEW, 'PRO-OFW' PASSPORT BILL

SENATORS have approved on 3rd and final reading a bill making the Philippine passport valid for ten years.

Senator Sonny Angara, one of the authors of Senate Bill No. 1365, also known as the "New Philippine Passport Act," expressed confidence that the proposed pro-Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) measure will easily hurdle the bicameral conference committee.

"This measure will certainly give comfort to our OFWs. Often, they have to file a leave from work for them to be able to travel back and forth to the nearest Philippine embassy or consular office to get their passports renewed," the senator stressed.

The bill mandates the government to issue tamper-proof passports using the latest data management technology.

Angara said eighteen years after the passage of Republic Act 8239, or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, there is obviously a compelling need to amend it to simplify the application process of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The number of passports issued by the DFA has been increasing by an annual average of 29.3 percent since 2010.

"It's about time. We have to keep up with the standard practice of other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, among others," the senator said, referring to the 10-year validity of passports.

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