No need to submit birth certificate in renewing electronic passport — DFA
MANILA, Philippines — There is no need for holders of expired or expiring electronic passports to submit their birth certificates when renewing, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato made this clarification on Twitter after some netizens aired their concerns on the renewal of their passports.
Yes, if the passport being renewed is an electronic passport, applicants don’t have to present original birth certificates as we should already have captured those at the time of application. Those with non e-passports issued before 2011 will have to present those documents.
— Elmer G Cato (@elmer_cato) January 12, 2019
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin earlier disclosed that a contractor made off with passport related data when the contract was terminated.
The e-Passport is the one on the right. You don’t need to bring your birth certificate if you have that passport. If not, please make sure you bring your birth certificate with you. pic.twitter.com/8UMJOfX5zL
— Elmer G Cato (@elmer_cato) January 12, 2019
READ: Bring birth certificates when renewing ‘older’ passports — DFA
“Because previous contractor got pissed when terminated it made off with data. We did nothing about it or couldn’t because we were in the wrong,” Locsin said in a tweet posted on Jan. 9.
“It won’t happen again. Passports pose national security issues and cannot be kept back by private entities. Data belongs to the state,” he added.
Because previous contractor got pissed when terminated it made off with data. We did nothing about it or couldn't because we were in the wrong. It won't happen again. Passports pose national security issues and cannot be kept back by private entities. Data belongs to the state. https://t.co/8vsN96jqij
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) January 8, 2019
This was in response to an earlier tweet from Cato instructing applicants who are renewing brown or green passports or maroon machine-readable passports to submit birth certificates as the DFA would need to “capture and store the document” in its database as the agency “no longer have the physical copy of the document submitted when they first applied.” /muf
