HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RECEIVED
02 AUG 2016

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE:
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2330 |

Introduced by REP. ANICETO D. BERTIZ, III

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and prospective OFWs spend significant
amounts of time and resources for the application and renewal of their passports. It
takes 2 to 3 months to secure an appointment with the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) and an additional 15-25 days for its release and issuance. If we take into
account the period for securing requirements such as birth certificate from the National
Statistics Office (NSO) and clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
or the Philippine National Police (PNP), an applicant would have to wait for a minimum,
of four months for the release of his/her passport.

Passport application or renewal also entail substantial costs. Government fees
covering passport, birth certificate, and law enforcement clearances amounts to at
least P1,395.00. The applicant would have to spend additional funds for transportation
not to mention the loss of income that they have to endure while lining up to get all the
necessary documents.

The number of OFWs has steadily increased. In 2015, the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA) reported that 1.8 million OFWs were deployed
The POEA estimates that 6,092 OFWs leave the country every day. There are
indications that the number will continue to rise as additional labor markets are opened
up in the ASEAN countries and other growth areas

As such, long queues for passport application and renewal have become a
common sight in Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) offices all over the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte himself recounted during his first State of the Nation
Address that he himself witnessed applicants sleeping in front of DFA offices in Davao
City,

This situation is untenable for OFWs and for other applicants. If left unresolved,
the queues and the waiting time will get longer and the costs shouldered by the
applicant will only get higher. As it is, OFWs are already adversely affected by the
waiting time since most of the Balik Manggagawa are only given two weeks to a month


of leave time by their foreign employers while they have to wait for 15 to 25 days for
the release of their passports not to mention the waiting period for an appointment.

The bill amends Republic Act 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 to
increase the validity of regular passports issued to adult applicants from the current
five (5) years to ten (10) years. This seeks to significantly reduce the frequency and
volume of application for passport renewals. This is expected to reduce, if not
eliminate, long queues at DFA offices and the waiting time for securing an appointment
and release of passports. The proposed 10-year validity is in line with what is being
observed in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, to
name a few.

The bill gives the DFA powers to limit the validity of a person's passport to less
than 10 years if such restriction is necessary to national economic interest or political
stability. This serves as a mechanism for the DFA to pro-actively deal with possible
threats to the economy or to public safety.

In view of the foregoing, | urge the early approval of this bill.

Ss

<—ANICETO D. BERTIZ II!


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No,_ *33U

Introduced by REP. ANICETO D. BERTIZ Ill

AN ACT
EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF THE REGULAR PHILIPPINE PASSPORT ISSUED
TO ADULT APPLICANTS TO TEN (10) YEARS, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8239 OR THE PHILIPPINE PASSPORT ACT OF 1996

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8239 is hereby amended to read
as follows:

SEC. 10. Validity. - Regular passports issued TO ADULT
APPLICANTS under this Act shall be valid for a period of [five (3) | TEN

(10) years, WHILE THOSE REGULAR PASSPORTS ISSUED TO
MINORS SHALL BE VALID FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS:
Provided, however, that the issuing authority IN ITS DISCRETION may

[limit] DECREASE the period of validity IN BOTH INSTANCES [to less

than five (5) years;] whenever in the national economic interest or

political stability of the country such restriction is necessary: Provided,
finally, that a new passport may be issued to replace one which validity
has expired, the old passport being returned to the holder after
cancellation.


SEC. 2. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or and regulation
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended
accordingly

SEC. 3. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

Approved,