Philippine passport

History

Prior to the Spaniards' arrival to the Philippine islands, indigenous peoples have been travelling freely within the islands and to neighboring Asian states to facilitate trade and commerce, primarily done in the form of seafaring. During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, the Spaniards introduced a travel document to the Philippines called the "chapa", or a writ of safety to go from one place to another, which the natives used from the 1500s to 1600s.
Philippine passports were released after gaining independence from the United States in 1946. Passports were ordered to be printed in Filipino for the first time under Diosdado Macapagal, to be subsequently implemented under Ferdinand Marcos. Currently, it is printed in Filipino with English translations.
With the adoption of the 1987 constitution, the power of issuing passports was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the current Department of Foreign Affairs. The Philippine Passport Act of 1996 governs the issuance of Philippine passports and travel documents. Philippine passports are only issued to Filipino citizens, while travel documents (under Section 13) may be issued to citizens who have lost their passports overseas as well as permanent residents who cannot obtain passports or travel documents from other countries.
On May 1, 1995, green covers were instituted on regular passports for the first time, and barcodes were inserted in passports in 2004. The new security-enhanced passport is a prerequisite to the issuance of new machine-readable passports which was first issued to the public on September 17, 2007. The Philippines used to be one of the few countries in the world that had not yet issue machine-readable regular passports although machine-readable passports for public officials have been issued since June 18, 2007.
On August 2, 2017, Republic Act 10928 was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, which extends the validity of passport from 5 years to 10 years. Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the new Philippine Passport Act on October 27, 2017. The act was implemented on January 1, 2018.

Machine-readable passports

In 2006, the DFA in cooperation with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas started a five-year passport modernization project designed to issue new Philippine machine-readable passports (MRP). However, an injunction was issued against the project by a lower court, only to be overturned by the Supreme Court and ordering the DFA and the BSP to continue the project.
The machine-readable passport is designed to prevent tampering through the use of a special features embedded in the passport cover, similar to other machine-readable passports. It also has more pages than the previous passport (44 pages instead of the previous 32) and processing times were expected to be accelerated.
Personal appearance when applying for the new MRP passport is now required and cannot be bypassed. Also, fingerprints are registered into the passport and microprinting is found all over the data page of the passport.
Officials from the DFA have clarified that the older, green, non-MRP passports will expire as scheduled on their original expiration dates. However, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requires all member states to issue machine-readable passports by April 2010, hence some countries may deny entry to Filipinos still in possession of the green, hand-written passports.

Biometric passport

In late July 2008, the DFA has announced plans and the possible implementation of a new Biometric Passport System for new passports. It is expected that the government will start issuing biometric passports by the end of 2009. On August 11, 2009, the first biometric passport was released for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The e-passport had various security features, including a hidden encoded image; an ultra-thin, holographic laminate; and a tamper-proof electronic microchip costing at around 950 pesos for the normal processing of 20 days or 1,200 pesos for the rush processing of 10 days.
As of July 2015, the Philippine Passport is printed in Asian Productivity Organization or APO Productions under the Presidential Communications Group. On August 15, 2016, the new generation e-passport was released by the Department of Foreign Affairs with advanced security features such as the upgraded microchip to capture the personal data of the applicant, invisible ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent ink and thread, and elaborate design when subject to UV light. Security inks were also used to print the passports to prevent forgery. These inks include intaglio, which are visible inks that have a distinct ridged feel and ultraviolet ink that appears when exposed to infrared lights. Other security features include watermarks, perforated passport numbering, embedded security fibers, among others. Aside from making the new e-passport tamper-proof, each leaf of the 44-page document depicts Philippine artifacts, cultural icons, historic places, renowned tourist destinations, and even lyrics of the national anthem.

Restrictions

With the declaration of martial law on September 23, 1972, travel restrictions were imposed on Philippine citizens. A letter of instruction restricted the issuance of passports to members of the Philippine diplomatic service, although this was relaxed in 1981 with the lifting of martial law.
In 1983, there were orders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to issue any passports to the family of opposition senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.. Despite the government ban, Aquino was able to acquire one with the help of Rashid Lucman, a former congressman from Mindanao. The passport identified him as Marciál Bonifacio, an alias derived from "martial law" and Fort Bonifacio, where he was detained.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, passports were stamped with limitations prohibiting travel to South Africa (because of apartheid) and Lebanon (because of the civil war). Passports were previously stamped prohibiting travel to Iraq due to the ongoing violence and because of the kidnapping of Angelo dela Cruz in 2004. However, passports printed after July 1, 2011 no longer bear this stamp.

Types

There are three types of Philippine passports issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs. These are currently designated by the colors maroon (regular), red (official), and dark blue (diplomatic).

Regular (maroon)

A regular passport is issued to any citizen of the Philippines applying for a Philippine passport. It is the most common type of passport issued and is used for all travel by Philippine citizens and non-official travel by Philippine government officials. Since September 17, 2007, all new Philippine passports have been issued with maroon covers.

Official (red)

An official passport is issued to members of the Philippine government for use on official business, as well as employees of Philippine diplomatic posts abroad who are not members of the diplomatic service. It is the second of two passports issued to the President and the Presidential family. As such, this passport does not extend the privilege of diplomatic immunity. Government officials are prohibited from using official passports for non-official business, and as such also have regular passports. This passport has a red cover. This passport has a validity of 6 months.

Diplomatic (blue)

A diplomatic passport is issued to members of the Philippine diplomatic service, members of the Cabinet, service attachés of other government agencies assigned to Philippine diplomatic posts abroad and Philippine delegates to international and regional organizations. It is the first of two passports issued to the President of the Philippines and the Presidential family. This passport has a dark blue cover and extends the privilege of diplomatic immunity to the bearer.

Other

When two Philippine eagles were loaned to Singapore, the birds were issued maroon passports when they were transported out of the Philippines in June 2019. The passports were however not valid as a travel document and are merely symbolic to express a statement that the birds remain Philippine government property.

Appearance

Philippine passports are maroon, with the coat of arms of the Philippines emblazoned in the center of the front cover.

Front cover

The word "PILIPINAS" is inscribed above the coat of arms, which now has hatchings to indicate the tinctures gules (red, for the right field) and azure (blue, for the left field). The word "PASAPORTE" is inscribed below, with the biometric passport symbol  appearing beneath it.
Passports issued during the latter years of the Fourth Republic had the order reversed (strikingly similar to the United States passport), with "PASAPORTE" on top and "REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS" on the bottom. All passports issued since this period have the cover in Filipino.
A typical passport has 44 (previously 32 or 64) pages.

Languages

Philippine passports are bilingual, with both issued text and information page data in Filipino followed by English translations. Brown passports once had all the Filipino text written with diacritics, but this was discontinued in the green and maroon passports. Pages 4–43 have, on one page per 2-page spread, (a) lines(s) of the national anthem, the Lupang Hinirang. The odd pages of pages 3–43 have a Baybayin text that says "Ang katuwiran ay nagpapadakila sa isang bayan" ("Righteousness exalts a nation") in reference to Proverbs 14:34 (ᜀᜅ᜔ ᜃᜆᜓᜏᜒᜇᜈ᜔ ᜀᜏ᜔ ᜈᜄ᜔ᜉᜉᜇᜃᜒᜎ ᜐ ᜁᜐᜅ᜔ ᜊᜌᜈ᜔).

Signature field

A Philippine passport is invalid if the passport is not signed, and normally the bearer affixes his/her signature on the signature field, whose position has varied with various incarnations of Philippine passports. Persons too young to sign a passport previously may have a parent or legal guardian sign the passport on their behalf, although this has since been prohibited.
Brown passports originally contained the signature field below the data page at the passport's inner cover. When green passports began being issued in 1995, a field where the bearer must sign the passport appeared below the passport note.
Machine-readable passports originally had no signature field, a source of much controversy as Filipinos applying for foreign visas, whether for travel or employment, have either been requested to get a copy of their passport application form to verify their signature, or denied altogether. Newer versions of this passport eventually had the signature field at the back cover, below the important reminders for Philippine passport holders, while older versions have the field stamped on.
Biometric passports from August 2009 to August 2016, are the only Philippine passports which do not require the physical signature of the bearer, as an image of the bearer's signature is printed onto the passport data page. Physical signatures are once again required for biometric passports issued after August 15, 2016, with the signature field on page 3.

Visa requirements

As of 28 September 2019, Filipino citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 65 countries and territories, ranking the Philippine passport 77th in terms of travel freedom (tied with a passport from Cuba & Ghana) according to the Henley Passport Index.

Fees

The new biometric Philippine passport costs 950 pesos (approximately $18) in the Philippines or $60 abroad. Overtime processing for new passports costs an additional 250 pesos. Persons who take advantage of overtime processing get their passports within seven days for applications for Metro Manila (DFA Consular Affairs office, ASEANA, Parañaque, Alabang Town Center, SM Megamall, and Robinsons Galleria), Pampanga (Marquee Mall, Angeles and DFA Pampanga regional office), DFA Lucena regional office, Robinsons Lipa and 15 to 20 days in other provinces. For Filipinos abroad, it will take up to 120 days. Passports previously could be amended for 100 pesos (approx. $2.50) in the Philippines or $20 abroad, although machine-readable passports are no longer amendable.
Lost or stolen passports may be replaced for 700 pesos (approx. $14) in the Philippines, $90 abroad.
As of 2018, the DFA requires all applicants (new or renewal) to secure an appointment online through their website.