Printing agency vows no increase in passport fees, seeks gov't subsidy

The printing agency behind the production of Philippine passports vowed not to increase prices but asked senators for subsidies to support its operations.

The APO Production Unit, Inc. was questioned during the budget hearing of its parent agency Presidential Communications Office (PCO) at the Senate. APO Production Unit president Gil Carlos Puyat explained that they were not actually requesting a passport price hike.

“We are not asking for an increase of the price to the public but what we are really asking for is a subsidy, that the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] include that in their budget,” Puyat said.

“Hindi po namin ipapasa sa public yung pagtaas,” he added. (We will not pass the price hike on to the public.)

The APO chief also said that they could not unilaterally increase prices without the DFA, as they are a mere servicing agency.

Puyat explained that the passport prices have been frozen since 2016. On top of this, the ongoing US-Israel’s war on Iran has also impacted passport production. Puyat cited the rising prices of raw materials and logistics, as well as inflation.

The current passport validity was also increased from five to 10 years, which resulted to APO producing fewer passports.

Senate Committee on Finance Chair JV Ejercito said that they would try to look for a budget but the fiscal space was tight. He urged APO and the DFA to find a solution.

“The last thing we want to happen is for us to not have passports…that will be a nightmare for our people, especially our OFWs [overseas Filipino workers],” Ejercito said.

PCO Secretary Dave Gomez also told the panel that there will be no price increase imposed upon the public.

“You have my personal assurance po na hindi po namin tataasan yung presyo at ipa-pass on sa ating mga mamamayan, yung additional cost to print the passports po,” Gomez said.

(You have my personal assurance that we will not raise the prices and pass it to our citizens, as well as the additional cost to print the passports.) — BM, GMA News

Follow facebook.com/gmanewsonline for real-time news and developments in the Philippines and around the world.