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By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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Monday, May 15, 2017
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MANILA – Sen. Cynthia Villar, also the vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is pushing for a10-year passport validity.
At present, regular Philippine passports are valid for a period of only five years.
Extending the validity of passports will benefit overseas Filipino workers because they travel and work abroad, Villar said.
“Much relief will be provided our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) once the need to renew their passports every five years is removed. There will be less need for them to be subjected to the cumbersome and time-consuming process of applying for renewal,” the senator said as she sponsored Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1365.
The Senate is expected to approve SBN 1365 on this and final reading today, Monday.
Villar expressed confidence that the measure will hurdle a bicameral review quickly since the version passed by the House of Representatives in February is the same as the Senate’s.
“The 5-year validity of passports of minors or those individuals under 18 years old is being retained. A minor’s passport should indeed be renewed every 5 years because a minor’s facial features change while growing up,” Villar said.
According to her, the 10-year validity is at par with the international standards practiced by other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Passports with longer validity will complement the measures adopted by the Department of Foreign Affairs to address the long queues and ease the backlogs in both application and release of passports such as additional frontline personnel, change in the layout of work stations and locations of service providers, and the institution of a dedicated OFW lane, she added./PN
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