DFA to proceed with e-passport system

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will start issuing machine-readable passports (e-passport) this year after the Supreme Court lifted a lower court injunction on the project.

In a press briefing yesterday, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Domingo Lucenario said: "We’re now proceeding with the project that will be implemented during the third quarter of this year."

Lucenario said the supply of non-machine readable passports will last until June 2007 and the DFA hopes to implement the e-passport in July.

At least four million e-passport booklets were ordered by the DFA to replace the non-machine readable passports, he added.

Foreign embassies feel it is necessary for them to verify with the DFA all data appearing on a visa applicant’s passport before one is issued to avoid cases of multiple identity, identity theft and tampered passport, Lucenario said.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II welcomed the SC’s order lifting the injunction on the passport modernization program.

On a visit yesterday to the DFA Passport Processing Section, Roxas said the Philippines will be complying with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) requirement to implement a machine-readable passport system.

"They are doubting our antiquated manual passports," he said.

"We are happy that our DFA will launch the e-passport. Modernizing our passport will make it acceptable in other countries. We are happy that our Supreme Court had decided that the DFA (implement) the passport modernization program that had long been held in abeyance."

The DFA was hopeful that the SC would hand a favorable judgment on the e-passport project because of the urgency of the case.

The ICAO had imposed a deadline of April 1, 2010, for all passports to be machine-readable.

Congress had allocated a P1.4 billion budget for the e-passport project under the 2007 General Appropriations Act.

The non-machine readable passport has been giving inconvenience to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other Filipino travelers since it is not in compliance with international standards and subject to scrutiny. – Pia Lee-Brago