New passport law signed

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed a law institutionalizing the digital application for Philippine passports and improving the services in securing the travel document, Malacañang said on Saturday.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Republic Act No. 11983, or the New Philippine Passport Act, mandated the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to make the passport application process more convenient for Filipinos.

Under the law, the DFA would put up and operate an online application portal and an “electronic one-stop shop” that the public may easily access on its official website.

The law, which the President signed on March 11, also imposed fines and prison terms on individuals found to have committed prohibited acts.

The DFA, it added, was also directed to “arrange accommodations” for overseas Filipino workers, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, minors aged seven and below, and other “emergency and exceptional cases.” —MARLON RAMOS