Duterte signs 10-year passports and 5-year driver’s licenses into law
New applicants for a Philippine passport or driver’s license will not need to worry about renewing it so soon as President Rodrigo Duterte has approved extending their validity for 10 and five years respectively.
5-year validity for driver’s license
FROM THREE TO FIVE, and even to 10 years. If you hold one of these, you won’t need to think about renewing for at least five more years (10 if you have a clean driving record).
He also signed into law R.A. 10930, which extends the validity of driver’s licenses to five years from the current three and applies to both professional and non-professional license. It amends Section 23 of R.A. 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
R.A. 10930. Click on the image to view the full document
If someone has a clean record, i.e. no violations under R.A. 4136, then they can have their licenses extended for another 10 years, subject to any restrictions imposed by the LTO.
Apart from extending the validity of driver’s licenses, R.A. 10930 also mandates the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to implement stricter rules and more stringent tests before issuing a driver’s license.
Both laws will take effect 15 days after it is published in the Official Gazette or a general circulation newspaper like the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, or the Philippine Star.
10-year validity for Philippine passports
10-YEAR VALIDITY for Philippine passports./IMAGE Wikimedia Commons
Last Wednesday, August 2, Duterte signed Republic Act (R.A.) 10928, which extends the validity of Philippine passports issued under Section 10 of R.A. 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 to 10 years. Current passports are only valid for five years.
R.A. 10928. Click on the image to view the full document
This, however, only applies to passports held by those above the age of 18. Anyone under the age of 18 holding a passport will still have passports valid for five years.
Free internet in public places
MORE PLACES TO BROWSE. A year after R.A. 10929 takes effect, the DICT should have every public place outfitted with internet access.
On the same day, Duterte also signed R.A. 10929 or the Free Internet in Public Places Act. This effectively gives anyone in the Philippines free internet access as long as they are in one of the following places:
- National and local government office
- Public basic education institutions (i.e. public schools)
- State universities and colleges (SUCs) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) technology institutions
- Public hospital, health center, and rural health unit
- Public park plaza, library, and barangay reading center
- Public airport and seaport
- Public transport terminal
R.A. 10929. Click on the image to view the full document
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall be the ones in charge of implementing the law one year after the prescribed 15-day period of publication.
Sources: ABS-CBN News, Inquirer.net, CNN Philippines
