Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, also known as PRRD, signed into law the Philippine Passport Bill on Wednesday morning, extending the validity of the travel document for Filipino adults to 10 years.
Republic Act (RA) 10928 states: “Regular passports under this Act shall be valid for a period of 10 years. Provided, however, that for individuals under 18 years of age, only a passport with five-year validity shall be issued.”
From the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes told The Gulf Today: “We await instructions from the Home Office (Department of Foreign Affairs-DFA in Metro Manila) on the timetable and schedule, and how this will be facilitated.”
He said the five-year validity of the Philippine passports for children under age 18 holds, since “children’s faces change and that does not happen much with adults.”
Cortes said even other governments apply the validity of the passports of their young nationals to only five years because “that is the standard.”
RA 10928 comes almost a year after DFA began issuing passports with sketches of Philippine heritage and iconic places in almost every page.
RA 10928 is from the House Bill 4767, approved by the Philippine House of Representatives last February. Three months later or in May, Senate Bill 1365 was passed by the upper chamber of the bi-cameral congress, known as the Philippine Senate.
At that time and when Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano was still a senator, he said: “Simplifying our passport application system would ease our people’s burden of having to renew their passports every few years. It would also prevent any backlog in the issuance of passports.”
At that time, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations vice chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar highlighted the big assistance of the OFWs in Manila’s economy. She said the Philippine passport validity extension is a way of giving back to them what they have been doing to their country.
Arthur Kevin Rabago from Manila said: “Finally, another practical move that benefits the majority; kudos to PRRD.”
Ulysses V. Espartero, also from Manila and author of books on successful Filipinos in the Middle East, the latest of which is “Behind the Domes of Majestic Mosques,” said: “We salute those behind the passage of this law. 
“We heard of stories of Filipinos who go through the difficult process of renewing their passports at the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) and at the Philippine Embassy (PE), taking leave from their work and travelling to Dubai for two hours from as far as Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.
“We welcome this report with confidence and hope that in the next few years, overseas Filipinos will obviously enjoy the privileges that come along with the 10-year validity.”
Iris Kay Jimenez, a nurse from Ajman, said: “The law is of great help for OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) like me. It will surely lessen the burden in renewing our passports since it is difficult for us to find time to go to the (PE) or (PCG) and endure the long queues. 
“But just my two cents, requirements should be clearly stated especially for the first-time applicants so as not to waste time during the application. 
“The law spells convenience not only for OFWs but for all Filipinos.”
Araceli Tungpalan, who works for a government-owned and controlled corporation in Makati City, Metro Manila, said: “I think the 10-year validity for the adults is good so that the hassle of renewing the passport will no longer be experienced. 
“As for the five years’ validity for the minors, this is okay because physical appearance changes.”
Clint Pagcaliwagan, an aircraft technician in Singapore, said: “The new law is a great relief for all of us Filipinos because we could go around the world as much as we want without worrying on the so limited number of years of the passport validity.”
“It is okay for the five-year validity of the passports for Filipino children. Their face changes in a matter of few years.”
Source : Gulf Today