‘Improve Philippine passport ranking’

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other concerned agencies must immediately take steps in improving the country’s global passport ranking, Sen. Francis Tolentino said yesterday.

He noted that during a hearing last week of the Senate committee on foreign relations, chaired by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, it was found that the country ranked only 82nd in the most powerful passports of the world in the 2021 Henley Passport Index (HPI).

The HPI basically determines the “power” of a country’s passport based on the number of countries it can be used without requiring a visa.

“It is indicative not just of the survey done, but the power of our passport. The passport is the badge of citizenship and you should be proud of that. Now, if our passport is downgraded, it seems the reception of the host country is also somewhat downgraded,” Tolentino said.

For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked DFA to maximize the use of online transaction, underscoring that technology has no limit and that it should be applied to passport renewal for the convenience of everyone, especially senior citizens.