The New Philippine Passport Act is approved! It's about some foreign residents in the Philippines!

(Philippine passport)

In the plenary session on 8 December, through a simple voice vote (for and against), the House of Commons approved the House Bill (HB) No.6510 for the penultimate time.

The full title of HB No.6510 is "An Act to provide for a new Passport Act to repeal Republic Act No. 8239 (RA), also known as the 'Philippine Passport Act 1996'". The measure is part of the Legislative-Administrative Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority legislative agenda.

According to HB No.6510, the task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is to implement a system:

1. Let the elderly update their passports by using available technology without appearing in court in person;

2. The Act also provides 50% discounts on passport processing, issuance or replacement fees for the elderly and the disabled (PWD);

3. Cancel the previous authorization of travel agencies or recruitment agencies to apply for passports on behalf of applicants;

4. Provisions to issue emergency passports to Filipino citizens who have previously been issued ordinary passports but cannot apply for or have been issued ordinary passports for some reasons;

5. In addition, the bill also requires the creation of three different databases containing current and previous passport and travel document records of Filipinos and recognized foreign residents, a watch list database containing the names of persons whose passport applications have been rejected or revoked, and a database containing names of persons guilty of passport-related crimes.

DFA will be allowed to use the 50% it collects from passport service fees to improve DFA passport and consular services.