A warning from the state printer behind Philippine passports has put the cost of the travel document back in play, with Senator JV Ejercito calling attention to a letter in which the APO Production Unit cautioned that leaving the fee unchanged could strain its ability to keep operating.
By Ejercito’s account, applicants who now pay P950 would be looking at a P1,500 charge under the proposal on the table. He noted that APO has left room to ease the impact for certain groups, with senior citizens and overseas Filipino workers eligible for discounts and OFWs possibly billed P1,200.
The senator raised the prospect of the chamber softening the blow through a government subsidy, mainly to keep OFWs from absorbing the steeper rate. He was quick to hedge the idea, pointing to how little money the government has to spare and stressing that any such support would have to clear a hard look first.
“Medyo masikip din yung fiscal space natin. We cannot just allocate money kung talagang hindi kailangan. We have a very limited fiscal space this year.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs would rather wait. Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro told the chamber during the agency’s budget deliberations on Friday, September 18, 2026, that she has pressed APO to hold any increase until a redesigned passport reaches Filipinos around the middle of 2028 — even as she granted that the price has sat untouched for what she pegged at upward of ten years.
“Ang sabi namin sa kanila ay kung pwede nyo po i-postpone muna ang pag-increase, acknowledge naman din namin na may talagang siguro it’s about time,” Lazaro said.
Should a higher fee eventually prove unavoidable, Lazaro said her department means to keep talking with APO and to draw up a plan for walking the public through any new rate, maintaining that the move cannot be made overnight.
“Kailangan din namin i-convey yan. Magko-communications plan pa kami. Hindi naman basta-basta. Maski na po tatlong buwan, kailangan pa rin ho ng enough explanation.”
The timeline is also boxed in by statute. The Philippine Passport Act bars any fee hike from taking effect within a three-year window, a rule the department has had to weigh as it works out when, or whether, a bigger charge should land.
