Recto wants extended validity of passports, driver's license

In a bid to eliminate red tape from the processing of government documents, Senator Ralph Recto has filed bills to extend the validity of a Philippine passport to 10 years, and the driver’s license to five years.

Recto said prolonging the period before the expiry date of the passport and driver’s license “will spare the holder of the hassle of applying for their renewal.

"This is a commonsensical anti-red tape measure which should have been done a long time ago," he said.

Passports are currently valid for five years while the driver’s license should be renewed after three years.

For 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is expected to collect P4.6 billion from passport processing.

The LTO, meanwhile, is seen to rake in P1.47 billion from the driver's licenses it would issue this year.

Under Recto’s bill, the permit to operate motor vehicles shall be valid for five consecutive years unless it is revoked or suspended if the holder is found to be a “a serial violator of traffic rules.”

The senator’s proposal for extending the validity of driver’s license, however, will not be applicable to student permits and new licenses.

In a separate bill, Recto wants Section 10 of Republic Act 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, amended so that the validity period of a Philippine passport will be lengthened to 10 years.

He said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will benefit if the measure is passed since they currently have to wait more than a week or so to renew their passports.

He noted that OFWs are allowed to return to the Philippines from two weeks to a month while the processing of applications and renewal of passports can take from 10 to 15 days, excluding the waiting period for an appointment.

"This might be too short a time for OFWs to secure new passports. Many spend their entire vacation in queues for multiple government-issued permits needed for their employment," he said.

While the bill extends the expiry of a passport to a decade, it will not apply to minors as international conventions require that they be issued five-year passport due to the fact that the physical appearance of children could change substantially within that period.

The bill also grants the Secretary of Foreign Affairs the right to limit the validity of a passport to less than 10 years if he deems that national security, public safety or public health or whenever the applicant's supporting documents appear inadequate.

A similar bill extending the validity period of Philippine passports to 10 years has been filed in the House of Representatives by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. —ALG, GMA News