House sub-group OKs bills to extend passport validity

A technical working group (TWG) of the House committee on foreign affairs has finished consolidating 22 bills all seeking to lengthen the validity of the Philippine passport to 10 years for adults and five years for minors.
Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who chairs the TWG, approved the proposals to amend Republic Act 8239, otherwise known as the “Philippine Passport Law.” 
Under the proposed amendment, passports of adults or those 18 years old and above will have a 10-year validity while those of minors will remain at five years.
Arroyo clarified it was not the intention of the bills' authors to introduce any other amendment to the existing law, but only to lengthen the passport’s validity.
The lawmaker from Pampanga said the current five-year passport validity “is rather too short given the tedious process and cost it requires to obtain or renew a passport.”
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III and Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil expressed support for the amendment during the TWG meeting.
Under Section 10 of RA 8239, the passport is valid for a period of five years, regardless of the age of the applicant.
With the amendment approved by the TWG, the provision of the said law shall read:
“SECTION 10. Validity. Regular passports issued under this Act shall be valid for a period of five (5) years for minors, ages zero to seventeen (0-17) years old and ten (10) years for adults eighteen (18) years old and above."
The amendment, however, allows the issuing authority to limit the period of validity to less than ten years "whenever in the national economic interest or political stability of the country such restriction is necessary."
The measure also requires the issuing authority to return an old passport to the holder after cancellation and passport renewal.
The present law refers to passport as “a document issued by the Philippine government to its citizens and requesting other governments to allow its citizens to pass safely and freely, and in case of need to give him/her all lawful aid and protection.”
The consolidated bill will be presented to the committee on foreign affairs chaired by Bulacan Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica during its next hearing. —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more