On a yearly basis, hundred thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’S) out of a few million, are faced with the dreadful task of renewing their about to expire passports. One of the requirements for this renewal would be each person’s birth certificate, which in and of itself, is a difficult thing to procure, given the red tape and bureaucracy prevalent in Philippine government units. Recent news, however, has given a special relief for Filipinos wanting to renew their passports.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. has issued a departmental order removing the birth certificate as a requirement for passport renewal for Overseas Filipino Workers scattered to about 180 different countries all over the world. This news is certainly a welcome relief, given that usually, most OFW’s are based thousands of miles away from the nearest consular office.
Add the fact that the government has now implemented the 10-year validity of newly issued passports, this will further improve the lives of our countrymen abroad.
However, there are exclusions to this Departmental Order (DO)
According to Section 2 of the newly signed Department Order 03-2019, the following cases are excluded in the directive’s coverage:
a) First-time passport applications;
b) Renewal applications for lost and mutilated passports;
c) Renewal applications requiring changes in passport entries;
d) Renewal applications of old brown and green passports bearing no complete middle name; and
e) Applicants included in the DFA’s watch list.
Read more:Â http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1059017
A new initiative of the current administration, to further ease the lives of our compatriots abroad, who, despite hardship and isolation, work day and night to provide for their beloved families back in our home soils. The current 10-year validity of recent passports will also further reduce the burden of renewal and is another step towards a modernized Philippine government.
