P1.15-B passport computerization on

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has announced that its P1.15-billion machine-readable passport and visa system project is underway and will be completed in June next year.

"It’s a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project that will not cost the government anything," Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople announced here over the weekend following the inauguration of the Central Luzon DFA consular office which will be provided with a back-up system for the department’s full computerization.

"Machine-readable passports will eliminate fraud and cut down the waiting time for the issuance of passports. The project will also restore the integrity and credibility of Philippine passports so that foreign nations will no longer doubt the integrity of the travel documents of Philippine citizens," Ople said.

For the first three quarters of this year, Ople said the DFA consular office here had issued a total of 71,904 passports, generating some P42.8 million in revenues.

Estrella Berenguel, assistant secretary for consular affairs, said the computerized passport and visa system would be housed in a new site in Metro Manila.

"It would cost about P1.15 billion to be implemented by the BCA International Corp.," she said.

"This computerization project will institute major reforms that will mean the entire computerization of passport processing so there will no longer be undue delays in the issuances of passports," she added.

Once the project is fully implemented, Berenguel said the number of passports that the DFA could issue in a day could be three to five times more than usual.