The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney announced that the Philippines commenced on 11 August 2009 the issuance of electronic passports (e-passports), with regular implementation scheduled for October 2009.
The e-passport has advanced technology security features which protect this important identity and travel document from forgery and tampering. One major feature of the new passport is an embedded chip that contains the data of the passport holder and a digital signature that verifies the authenticity of its stored data. The chip uses contactless microchip technology that allows stored information to be read by special chip readers and passport reading machines.
The Philippine e-passport’s additional security features include microscopic lettering of the passport holder’s information in the passport picture and ghost image, the printing of customized invisible images on each passport page, laser perforations on visa pages, and a holographic laminate that protects the passport information page.
The Philippine e-passport is highly secure against tampering and illegal reproduction. To complement the issuance of the e-passport, the Philippines is also implementing a passport database system that detects impostors and guards against multiple passport issuances to the same person.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines said that the requirements for an e-passport will remain the same as that for a Machine Readable Passport (MRP). The e-passport initially will be available through the Manila Office of the DFA, eventually through Philippine embassies and consulates throughout the world and the DFA’s regional offices throughout the Philippines.
Philippine Consul General Eva G. Betita said that the Philippine Consulate in Sydney will announce at a later date when it will implement the processing of the e-passport. In the meantime, the Consulate will continue to issue the Machine Readable Passport. – ?