METRO MANILA — Even people who hate her would probably love this bill.
Former President and current Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has filed a bill seeking to extend the validity of Philippine passports from five years to 10 years.
“Arroyo is pushing House Bill No. 487 (HB 487) or the proposed Act Amending Section 10 of the Republic Act No. 8239 otherwise known as the Philippine Passport Act of 1996,” reports Lira Dalangin-Fernandez on InterAksyon.com.
In her explanatory note for HB 487, Arroyo stated, “A five-year passport validity is rather too short given the tedious process and cost it requires to obtain or renew a passport. Provided, however, that the issuing authority may limit the period of validity to less than 10 years; whenever in the national economic interest or political stability of the country such restriction is necessary.”
For now, passport applicants pay a PHP950 processing fee. Those who want their passports released sooner pat PHP1,200. The regular process usually takes 20 working days from the date of payment, while the express processing takes seven working days. But these release date targets get extended when glitches are experienced.
Arroyo has been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City since 2011 for a plunder case over the alleged misuse of PHP365 million in confidential Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds. She also suffered complications after a cervical spine surgery.
President Rodrigo Duterte has offered to grant pardon to Arroyo in the past, but she has rejected the offer as it would mean she had to be found guilty first.
