This is in response to Neal Cruz’s column “DFA’s ePassport project goes bust” (Inquirer, 11/28/12).
The Department of Foreign Affairs would like to assure Cruz and the public that the ePassport project has not “gone bust” as he claimed, and continues to function efficiently as intended. There is no disruption in the delivery of our passport services to the public and neither will the department revert to the old (nonmachine-readable passport) system.
As a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Philippines, along with 187 other member-states, will comply with the ICAO directive to the effect that all manually scripted passports should no longer be in circulation by November 2015.
Pursuant to this directive, the Philippines has an obligation to adhere to the ICAO standards that prescribe the use of machine-readable travel documents (such as the ePassport). The Philippine ePassport is therefore here to stay.
As correctly stated by Cruz in his column, the DFA entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in December 2006 wherein the DFA shall procure all its ePassport requirements exclusively from the BSP for a period of 10 years from the date of first delivery in 2009.
It is worth noting that the BSP has been providing the department’s passport needs for years even before the implementation of the ePassport project. The department has full confidence in the BSP.
With regard to the issue of the BSP’s transactions with Oberthur, the department attended the public bidding for the ePassport covers and booklets in February 2012 as an observer and, as such, can attest that the public bidding was conducted by the BSP in an open and transparent manner.
Currently, there is no shortage of ePassports. We have been regularly releasing passports on time and passport fees remain unchanged at P950 for regular processing and P1,200 for expedient processing.
The department will continue to expand its passport operations nationwide by transferring its regional consular facilities to shopping malls throughout the country to better serve the public.
The department is committed to improving its consular services by constantly monitoring and upgrading its technical capabilities and resources.
The department assures the public of uninterrupted passport services and delivery.—JAIME VICTOR B. LEDDA, assistant secretary, Office of Consular Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs