MANILA, Philippines — Passport applicants will not have to pay higher fees despite rising passport printing costs, as the government plans to seek a subsidy to cover the increase, Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after Senate Finance Committee's approval of the 2027 budget of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Gomez said the government would shoulder the additional printing costs instead of passing them on to the public, following a request from the APO Production Unit for higher funding.
“The cost of printing passports has increased because the current rate has been in place since around 2016,” Gomez said.
“But whatever the increase in the printing cost of passports, we will not pass it on to the Filipino people,” he added.
The APO Production Unit, which handles the printing of Philippine passports, earlier clarified that it was seeking a subsidy from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), rather than an increase in passport fees.
The Palace official said the additional funding would be sought through the DFA budget.
“We are asking for a subsidy through the DFA budget for APO’s passport printing. Hopefully, the additional cost of printing passports will come from that budget,” Gomez said.
“That was the assurance I gave the committee earlier: We will not pass the additional printing costs on to the Filipino people,” he added.
The PCO is seeking P2.621 billion in funding for 2027.
