OFW Guide: Green, maroon PHL passports phased out by 2015

Filipinos still holding green- and maroon-colored passports should renew them within the year as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is set to phase out these Philippine passports in 2015, a report on GMA News TV's "News To Go" said on Friday. 

 

Only e-Passports (dark maroon with a logo of the International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO below the word “PASAPORTE” on the front cover) will be recognized by October 31, 2015, the report said. 

 

All green machine readable-ready and maroon machine readable passports are slowly being replaced by biometric or e-passports, which were introduced in the country in 2009. 

 

The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia, in a reminder last Dec. 2013, said it was in line with the regulation of both the DFA and the standards of the ICAO. 

 

Those who wish to renew their passports must make an appointment with the DFA. 

 

On the assigned day, they must head to the appointments verification desk of the facility with the following requirements, as enumerated by Sigfried Magsangkay, DFA passport officer, in the News to Go report:

 

 

After verifying their appointment and handing in the required documents, applicants must head to the cashier to pay the renewal fee. Regular processing costs P950, while express processing costs P1,200. 

 

The process, which takes one to two hours, culminates in the biometrics section, where fingerprints and other details will be taken.

 

Those who availed of express processing can claim their passports in seven working days, while those who opted for regular processing can claim theirs in 15. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News