Passports with 10-year validity issued from Jan. 12

The country’s diplomatic missions overseas will now be issuing 10-year passports at no added charge, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

These passports will almost be like the current electronic passports but their validity will be 10 years, instead of five. The DFA said current passport application fees would also apply: P1,200 for “express” processing of 10 working days and P950 for “normal” processing of 20 working days. The DFA expects to release the first batch of 10-year passports on Jan. 12. —Dona Z. Pazzibugan