Chapter IX: Passport Act law

Republic Act No. 8239

Philippine Passport Act Of 1996
SECTION 1. This Act will be called as the “Philippine Passport Act of 1996.”
SEC. 2. Statement of Policy.
 The peoples constitutional right to travel is inviolable.
 the government has the duty to issue passport or any travel document to
any citizen of the Philippines or individual who complies with the
requirement of this Act.
SEC. 3. Definitions.
Travel Document
-means a certification or identifying document containing the description and
other personal circumstances of its bearer, issued for direct travel to and from the
Philippines valid for short periods or a particular trip.
Supporting Documents
-any paper or document which is required to be submitted with the passport
application supporting claims to Filipino citizenship to complete the application
for a passport without which such application would be deemed incomplete
Ambassadors
-mean those who have been appointed as chiefs of mission and have served as
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
SEC. 4. Authority to Issue, Deny, Restrict or Cancel.
 Upon the application of any qualified Filipino citizen, the Secretary of Foreign
Affairs or any of his authorized consular officer may issue passports in
accordance with this Act.
 Philippine consular officers in a foreign country shall be authorized by the
Secretary to issue, verify, restrict, cancel or refuse a passport in the area of
jurisdiction of the Post in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 5. Requirements for the Issuance of Passport.
 The birth certificate duly issued or authenticated by the Office of the Civil
Registrar
 In the absence of a birth certificate, a baptismal certificate for those who are
members of a Christian religious organization
 In case of a woman who is married, separated, divorced or widowed or
whose marriage has been annulled or declared by court as void, a copy of the
certificate of marriage, court decree of separation, divorce or annulment or
certificate of death of the deceased spouse duly issued and authenticated by
the Office of the Civil Registrar
 In the case of naturalized citizens, a certified copy of the naturalization
certificate; or a certified naturalization certificate of husband or parent duly
issued and authenticated by the Office of the Civil Registrar
SEC. 6. Application.
In case of first-time applicants, the applicant must present himself/herself in
person to prove that he or she is the same person and of the age claimed in the
application form.
In case of renewal the application may be filed by any licensed travel agency duly
accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs: Provided, That the agent shall be
responsible for the authenticity or bona fide of the supporting documents being
presented to meet the requirements for the application of passports.
SEC. 7. Types of Passports.
a) Diplomatic passport for persons imbued with diplomatic status or are on
diplomatic mission
The President of the Philippines and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign
Affairs may grant diplomatic passports to officials and persons other than those
enumerated herein who are on official mission abroad.
b) Official Passport
To be issued to all government officials and employees on official trip abroad but
who are not on a diplomatic mission or delegates to international or regional
conferences or have not been accorded diplomatic status
c) Regular Passport
Issued to Filipino citizens who are not eligible or entitled to diplomatic or official
passports, including government officials or employees going abroad for pleasure
or other personal reasons.
SEC. 8. Grounds for Denial, Cancellation or Restrictions.
a) Denial of Passport
When requested by the natural or legal guardian, if the applicant is a minor;
When the applicant has been found to have violated any of the provisions of this
Act;
b) Cancellation
When the holder is a fugitive from justice;
When the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense;
c) Restricted
When the country of destination is in a state of political instability which could
pose a danger to the Filipino traveler;
When the country of destination is subject to travel restriction by government
policy, enforcement of action by the United Nations or in a state of war.
SEC. 9. Appeal.
Any person who feels aggrieved as a result of the application of this Act of the
implementing rules and regulations issued by the Secretary shall have the right to
appeal to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from whose decision judicial review may
be had to the Courts in due course.

SEC. 10. Validity.

Regular passports issued under this Act shall be valid for a period of five (5) years
A new passport may be issued to replace one which validity has expired; the old
passport being returned to the holder after cancellation.
SEC. 11. Ownership of Passports.
A Philippine passport remains at all times the property of the Government, the
holder being a mere possessor thereof as long as it is valid and the same may not
be surrendered to any person or entity other than the government or its
representative
SEC. 12. Names and Titles.
The passport shall contain the full name of the applicant, but shall not include his
title or titles or profession or job description.
SEC. 13. Travel Documents.
A Filipino citizen returning to the Philippines who for one reason or another has
lost his/her passport or cannot be issued a regular passport;
Aliens permanently residing in the Philippines who are not able to obtain foreign
passport and other travel documents;
SEC. 14. Amendments.
A passport may be amended at the request of the holder for any lawful purpose,
but such amendment should be approved by the Secretary or his duly authorized
diplomatic or consular officers.
Diplomatic and official passports shall be submitted for revalidation before each
departure of the holder.
SEC. 15. Loss or Destruction.
The loss or destruction of a passport should be immediately reported to the
Department or the Post. The holder of such passport shall submit to the
Department or Post an affidavit stating in detail the circumstances of such loss or
destruction.
The holder of such a passport who is in the Philippines, should also furnish the
National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration copies of the
affidavit.
No new passport shall be issued until satisfactory proof is shown that the
passport was actually lost and after the lapse of fifteen (15) days following the
date of submission of the affidavit of loss as herein required
SEC. 16. Fees.
Reasonable fees shall be collected for the processing, issuance, extension,
amendment or replacement of a lost passport and the issuance of a Travel
Document as may be determined by the Department:
SEC. 17. Passport Revolving Fund.
The Department may charge a service fee of not more than Two Hundred Fifty
Pesos (₱250) for such service rendered to applicants relating to the processing
and issuance of passports requiring special consideration, waiver or issuance
beyond regular office hours.
SEC. 18. Waiver.
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs is solely authorized to waive any requirements
set forth in SEC. 5 of this Act.
SEC. 19. Offenses and Penalties.
a) Offenses Relating to Issuances
Acting or claiming to act in any capacity or office under the Republic of the
Philippines, without lawful authority, grants, issues or verifies any passport or
travel document to any or for any person whomsoever shall be punished by a fine
of not less than Fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000) nor more than Sixty thousand
pesos (₱60,000) and imprisonment of not less than eighteen (18) months nor
more than six (6) years; or
Being a diplomatic or consular official authorized to grant, issue, amend or verify
passports, knowingly and willfully grants, issues, amends or verifies any such
passport to any or for any person not owing allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines, whether citizen or not, shall be punished by a fine of not less than
Fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000) nor more than Sixty Thousand Pesos (₱60,000)
and imprisonment of not less than eighteen (18) months but not more than six (6)
years, and upon conviction, be disqualified from holding appointive public office;
b) Offenses Relating to False Statements
Any person who willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in any
application for passport with the intent to induce or secure the issuance of a
passport under the authority of the Philippine Government, either for his own use
or the use of another contrary to this Act or rules and regulations prescribed
pursuant hereto shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifteen thousand
pesos (₱15,000) nor more than Sixty thousand pesos (₱60,000) and imprisonment
of not less than three (3) years nor more than ten (10) years:
c) Offenses Relating to Forgery
Falsely makes, forges, counterfeits, mutilates or alters any passport or travel
document or any supporting document for a passport application, with the intent
of using the same shall be punished by a fine of not less than Sixty thousand pesos
(₱60,000) nor more than One hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱150,000) and
imprisonment of not less than six (6) years nor more than fifteen (15) years; or
Willfully or knowingly uses or attempts to use, or furnishes to another for use any
such false, forged, counterfeited, mutilated or altered passport or travel
document or any passport validly issued shall be punished by a fine of not less
than Sixty thousand pesos (₱60,000) nor more than One hundred and fifty
thousand pesos (₱150,000) and imprisonment of not less than six (6) years nor
more than fifteen (15) years:
Forgeries of five or more passports or travel documents, would be considered as
massive forgery tantamount to national sabotage and shall be punished by a fine
of not less than Two hundred and fifty thousand pesos (₱250,000) nor more than
One Million pesos (₱1,000,000) and imprisonment of not less than seven (7) years
nor more than seventeen (17) years.
d) Offenses Relating to Improper Use
Uses or attempts to use, any passport issued or designed for the use of another or
any supporting documents for a passport application which belongs to another
Defaces or destroys a Philippine passport, shall be punished by a fine of not less
than Sixty thousand pesos (₱60,000) nor more than One hundred fifty thousand
pesos (₱150,000) and imprisonment of not less than six (6) years nor more than
fifteen years.
e) Offenses Relating to Multiple Possession
No person or individual may hold more than one valid passport, except as
provided for in SEC. 7 hereof, and any individual who possesses more than one
unexpired passport shall, for every unexplored passport found in his possession,
be punished by a fine of not less than Fifteen thousand pesos (₱15,000) nor more
than Sixty thousand pesos (₱60,000) and imprisonment of not less than eighteen
(18) months but not more than six (6) years
SEC. 20. Suspension of Accreditation.
Any duly accredited travel or recruitment agent or agency which violates the
prescription on application for passport under SEC. 6 hereof shall have such
accreditation suspended without prejudice to civil, criminal or administrative
sanctions including revocation of its license to operate.
SEC. 21. Rules and Regulations.
The Secretary shall issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
implement the provisions herein within sixty (60) days from date of effectivity of
this Act without extension or delays.
SEC. 22. Separability Clause.
Should any provision of this Act or the applicability thereof to any person or
circumstances is held invalid, the remainder thereof shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 23. Repealing Clause.
All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SEC. 24. Effectivity.
This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at least five (5)
newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette.
AN ACT EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF PHILIPPINE PASSPORTS, AMENDING FOR
THE PURPOSE SECTION 10 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8239, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
THE “PHILIPPINE PASSPORT ACT OF 1996", AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. Validity
- Regular passports issued under this Act shall be valid for a period of ten (10)
years however, for individuals under eighteen (18) years of age, only a passport
with five (5)-year validity shall be issued.
Section 2. Implementing Authority.
- The Department of Foreign Affairs shall issue the necessary implementing rules
and regulations and adopt best practices to ensure that the provisions of this Act
are implemented in convergence with necessary reforms to make the passport
processing system seamless, convenient and pro-people, and the production and
security of passports at par with technological advances and world standards.
Section 3. Separability Clause.
- If any part of provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the
order provisions or parts not affected shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 4. Repealing Clause.
- All laws, ordinances, rules regulations, other issuances or parts thereof, which
are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 5. Effectivity.
- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official
Gazette or in a national newspaper of general circulation.