Sen Bam Aquino to Propose Mandatory Issuance of Passports Right After High School Graduation

Senator Bam Aquino plans to propose that issuance of passport be mandatory to all Filipinos right after they graduate from high school. Currently, Filipinos are only required to have a passport if they plan to travel outside the country or to work abroad. The Liberal Party (LP) senator said his proposal shall ease the problems of passport issuance and renewal.

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“Alam naman nating napakarami ng reklamo sa pagkuha at pagpapa-renew ng passport. Hindi naman natin isinisisi yan sa kasalukuyang administrasyon kasi alam ko naming ginagawa nila ang lahat para mapabilis ang serbisyo nga DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs).” Sen. Bam Aquino told reporters this Friday, January 12.

(We all know that there are tons of complaints in getting and renewing of passports. We are not blaming the current administration because I know they are doing their best to speed up the services in DFA.)

“Isa ring dahilan kung bakit ko to naisip ay dahil sa mas madaling ma trace ang mga school records nila kung kakatapos pa lang ng high school. After all, marami naman sa atin ang balak magtrabaho sa ibang bansa. At kung hindi naman, magagamit naman din nila ito bilang kanilang unang government-issued ID, di ba?” He added.

(Another reason I thought of this is that their school records can easily be traced back right after they graduate from high school. After all, a lot of us are planning to work abroad. And if not, they can still use it as their government-issued ID, isn’t it?)

Aquino, who is likely to run for reelection in 2019, filed Senate Bill 917 (or the Filipino Identification System Act) in July 2016. Under his proposal, a unified identification system shall be established that will be used as sole required identification in any government transaction, to be implemented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).



Last July, Sen. Aquino clarified that the national ID system should be used for government services and to promote safety, and not to encourage discrimination, particularly to Filipino Muslims. Meanwhile, he said he is set to file a Senate bill about the compulsary issuance of passports after high school sometime next week.

Contributed by Renato Pasayao