The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) says it is asking to delay a planned passport fee increase until June 2028, when it expects to begin issuing next-generation Philippine passports. DFA Secretary Theresa Lazaro made the request during the DFA’s budget hearing, linking the timing of any fee change to the rollout of new passport requirements.
Lazaro’s position comes after the government passport printer, APO Production Unit, requested raising the passport fee from P950 to P1,500 starting January 2027. DFA officials argue that the move to next-generation passports would involve different passport “paper,” and they say increasing fees before the new system is introduced would complicate the transition. The DFA therefore proposes keeping the increase aligned with the mid-2028 launch of the next-generation passports.
Both reports describe the same proposal and rationale, with the DFA emphasizing that any fee hike should be timed to the next-generation passport rollout rather than implemented earlier as requested by the printer.
