We Filipinos have dreamed of extending the validity of passports and driver’s licenses for years now. Although you would count years for these to expire, it’s still convenient, efficient, and thrifty, if you’d renew it for a long time, right? Yesterday, these bills has been signed into law by our dear President Rodrigo Duterte. The thing we’re yearning for is now in our hands. However, the laws extending the validities of these also impose tighter measures to ensure that people who get them are deserving.
Pres. Duterte signed the two laws Republic Act No. 10928 and Republic Act No. 10930 on Wednesday, August 2, 2017.
To hand you the thought of what this means, under Republic Act No. 10928, regular passports of citizens, at least 18 years old will be valid for 10 years. While passports issued to minors (under 18) will only be valid for 5 years. Before this was signed, the maximum validity of passports is only up to 5 years.
In addition to that, the law also states that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has the right to choose validity to less than 10 years “whenever in the national economic interest or political stability of the country such restriction is necessary.”
The cabinet instructed the DFA to issue rules and regulations pertaining to the maximum validity of these passports. Moreover, the law dictates to the DFA that the processing of passports should be “seamless, convenient, and pro-people.”
Meanwhile, Republic Act No. 10930 extends the validity of the driver’s license from 3 years to 5 years; calculated from the birthdate of the licensee. This does not apply to student permits, though.
Skip to content