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Poe wants PH’s passport price hike postponed

Following the signing of the Republic Act extending the validity of Philippine passports from five years to 10 years, Senator Grace Poe on Sunday proposes October 8 an “anti-passport price increase” provision for millions of Filipinos applying or renewing passports annually.

The senator suggests the inclusion of the provision in the 2018 budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in order to freeze a hike in the fee for the travel document despite its validity being extended to 10 years.

“We can add one line which stipulates that the amount DFA will charge for a 10-year passport will not be increased and will remain the same as the fee for the current five-year passport,” Poe said.

She stressed that if the number of pages will remain the same, there is no reason to jack up the price.

“Gusto lang nating siguraduhin na ang passport na doble ang haba ng bisa ay hindi magiging doble ang presyo ng pagkuha,” Poe said.

Poe added that if the DFA will charge more for passports with additional pages, a dialogue with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) must ensue to ensure that OFWs will not be burdened by the new law.

“Hindi na kailangang tumubo pa ang ating pamahalaan sa pag-issue ng isang dokumento na kailangan ng ating mga OFW sa kanilang hanapbuhay. Higit P1.34 trillion ang remittances nila last year. Ang abot-kayang passport ang sukli natin sa kanilang mga sakripisyo,” Poe added.

Source: senate.gov.ph

Related: Breaking: Duterte signs law extending passport validity to 10 years

https://filipinotimes.net/top-stories/2017/08/02/breaking-duterte-signs-law-extending-passport-validity-to-10-years/

Related: DFA opens passport express lane for first-time OFWs

https://filipinotimes.net/news/2017/09/05/dfa-opens-passport-express-lane-for-first-time-ofws/

 

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