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Friday, March 29, 2024

Senate okays bill on passport extension

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With 18 affirmative votes, and zero negative vote and zero abstention, the Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill extending the validity of Philippine passports from five to 10 years, said Senator Cynthia A. Villar.

Villar, vice-chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1365, or the Philippine Passport Act, said the proposed law sought to extend the validity of the passport from five years to 10 years to make travel abroad easier, especially for overseas Filipino workers.

“We owe a lot to our OFWs. They keep our economy afloat with their remittances of approximately $50 billion annually. Giving them a 10-year guarantee on their right to travel abroad will certainly be a great help to them,” Villar added.

She said the passport’s current period of validity of five years was in actuality less than five years because travel abroad was often disallowed for persons whose passports were about to expire within six months’ time or less.

“Our Constitution guarantees our countrymen’s right to travel. We should indeed have the freedom to move around and even leave the country for whatever valid purpose we may have. We could only be prevented by the government from leaving the country if there is a statutory basis for it; and the grounds are limited only to matters of national security, public safety or public health,” Villar said.

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She said the measure also sought to prevent backlogs in the issuance of passports with the extension of its validity.

Senator Sonny Angara, meanwhile,  expressed confidence that Villar’s bill will easily hurdle the bicameral conference committee. He echoed the belief of Villar that this measure will certainly give comfort to our OFWs.

The bill mandates the government to issue tamper-proof passports using the latest data management technology.

Angara said 18 years after the passage of Republic Act 8239, or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, there is obviously a compelling need to amend it to simplify the application process of the Department of Foreign Affairs which issuance of passport has been increasing by an annual average of 29.3 percent since 2010.

“It’s about time. We have to keep up with the standard practice of other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, among others,” the senator said, referring to the 10-year validity of passports.

Senator Alan Cayetano, who chairs the Committee on Foreign Relations, said that the passage of the measure into law would be in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to promote the welfare of the people.

He said that there is a need to make the passport application process more “seamless, convenient, and pro-people, especially to OFWs, as any delay in processing their travel documents could cost them their employment abroad.

Aside from Villar, the other co-authors of the bill  were Senators Angara, Cayetano, Richard Gordon,, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, Grace Poe, and Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto.

Also approved on third reading is a bill seeking to strengthen the law to protect media practitioners from revealing their sources has been approved by the Senate.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media and sponsor of Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1255, said the proposed law was a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 6 and Senate Bill No. 486 filed by Majority Floor Leader Tito Sotto and Senator Sonny Trillanes, respectively.

“‹Poe said the bill sought to amend Republic Act No. 53, also known as the Shield Law or the Sotto Law, which was passed 70 years ago upon the proposal of Sotto’s grandfather, the late Senator Vicente Yap Sotto.

She said the Shield Law exempted the publisher, editor, columnist or duly accredited reporter of any newspaper, magazine or periodical of general circulation from divulging their sources unless these endangered the security of the State.

“‹The law, Poe explained, ensured press freedom and guaranteed the freedom of speech by allowing the press to report on matters involving public interest without fear of undue pressure from the government to reveal their sources.

“‹But the Shield Law, Poe said, was solely confined to print media. She said the passage of SBN 1255 into law would also protect broadcast and online journalists as well as foreign and local wire news services from revealing their sources.

“Under our proposed measure, we shall expand the coverage of RA 53, as amended, to any publisher, owner or duly recognized or accredited journalist, writer, reporter, contributor, opinion writer, editor, manager, producer, news director, web master, cartoonist or media practitioner involved in the writing, editing, production and dissemination of news for mass circulation, of any print, broadcasts, wire service organization, or electronic mass media, including but not limited to the internet and cable TV and its variants,” Poe.

“‹“We now receive news not just through print media but also through broadcast media such as television, radio and the internet,” she added.

“‹Poe cited a 2012 survey conducted by the TNS Global Market Research which showed that 45 percent of the 1,000 respondents from classes A,B,C,D and E connected through the internet while 365 listened to the radio. Another 12 percent of the respondents said they read the newspapers and four percent said they read magazines.

“‹However, she said, the Shield Law could not be used to protect a person from libel. She said the law would protect media practitioners from being compelled or forced to reveal their sources but “not from spewing out malicious imputations under the guise of journalism.”

“‹“Through this law, we want to embolden whistleblowers to speak out. If they cannot approach government institutions, then they should at least be able to approach the media,” Poe said. 

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