Press Release
August 22, 2009

AMEND LAWS TO PRESERVE INTEGRITY OF RP PASSPORT - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara is urging the Senate to enact amendments on existing laws on the issuance and use of Philippine passports to expedite and simplify the application process of such, and to further enforce laws on passport tampering and forgery.

"The passport is an official document of identity and nationality issued to Filipinos intending to travel or sojourn in foreign countries. It gives the bearer the right to receive the protection and assistance of the diplomatic and consular offices of the Republic of the Philippines abroad. Without a passport, departure would be illegal and entry to other countries, difficult and impossible. Hence it is tantamount that it is given the highest regard for honesty and respect," shares Angara.

Like any document, a passport may be tampered with and its contents and its supporting documents forged. Statistics of the Department of Foreign Affairs on fake passports categorize the following offenses to be used as grounds to invalidate a passport and prosecute violators:

o   proliferation of tampered photo-substituted passports;
o   assumed identity;
o   declared lost/cancelled passport intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration;
o   unclaimed/abandoned passports at foreign embassies;
o   intercepted passports mailed to US;
o   misrepresentation of civil status;
o   discrepancy in date;
o   submission of spurious / fake documents;
o   fake immigration stamps;
o   use of stolen passports; and
o   double passports.

With the continuing cases of offenses relating to the issuance, possession, use, suspension and revocation of passports, there is an insistent need to amend Republic Act No. 8239 (Philippine Passport Act of 1996), which Senate Bill 896 aims to address.

Angara stresses, "To do damage to its integrity and validity or to use it inappropriately is deemed a serious crime that is penalized accordingly. These amendments are necessary to simplify the passport documentation requirements and processes in the DFA; add grounds for its amendment, suspension and revocation; rally for the issuance of passports using tamper proof and the latest data encryption technology; and provide stiffer penalties against proliferators of fake passports."

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