The fee paid for an electronic passport in the Philippines is one of the lowest in the world, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The DFA charges a passport fee of P950 or $21, an amount it said barely covers the actual cost of producing the new electronic passport (e-passport).
A survey conducted in 60 countries issuing machine readable passports found that the Philippine passport fee is much lower than other Asian countries like Thailand, which charges $33; Brunei, $37; Malaysia, $97; Cambodia $120; Singapore, $52; and Japan, $180.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may avail themselves of the lower passport fee by applying in the Philippines, the DFA said. Over 70 percent of the passport applications come from Manila.
The DFA has an existing contract with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the production of the passport. The BSP also conducts an open bidding for its supply requirements.
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May 31, 2011 at 8:52 am
Duh! it may have the lowest price but it's also the slowest in the world in terms of processing.. Imagine 3months to process? toooooooooooooo slow………..