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MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 98, November 28, 1993 ]

ESTABLISHING AN INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE AGAINST PASSPORT IRREGULARITIES

WHEREAS, there is an increasing number of passport irregularities and fraud cases through the methodical manipulation and circumvention of the Philippine passporting system;

WHEREAS, the attention of the Government has been called to the alleged sale of Philippine passports in Hong Kong and China for monetary considerations to facilitate the illegal entry of aliens into the country;

WHEREAS, a significant number of Filipinos overseas who are holders of fraudulent Philippine passports become victims to abuse and maltreatment;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for a coordinated and integrated government effort to combat the alarming increase in the cases of passport irregularities and fraud;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Section 1. Inter-Agency Committee Against Passport Irregularities. An Inter-Agency Committee (hereinafter referred to as “Committee”) Against Passport Irregularities is hereby established, to be composed of the following:

a. Department of Foreign Affairs – Chairman

b. Department of Justice – Vice-Chairman

c. Department of Interior and Local Government – Member

d. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas – Member

e. Bureau of Immigration – Member

f. National Bureau of Investigation – Member

g. Philippine National Police – Member

h. Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency – Member

i. National Statistics Office – Member

The Chairman, Vice-Chairman and members of the Committee may designate their alternates who shall be senior officials of their respective Departments or agencies, not lower than Director level, to attend Committee meetings.

Section 2. Functions of the Committee. The Committee shall have the following functions:

a. Establish the blueprint for achieving a coordinated approach to the problem of passport fraud by defining the roles, obligations and accountabilities of each member department/agency.

b. Collate and review existing passporting procedures, including the redesigning of a tamper-proof passport, and adopt and promulgate implementing guidelines for the effective enhancement of the integrity of the Philippine passport.

c. Ensure the proper implementation of established procedures.

d. Formulate an effective enforcement action against those responsible for passport irregularities and related frauds, and monitor the effectiveness of such enforcement action in preventing and/or stopping such irregularities.

e. Call on any department, bureau or office of the Government including government-owned and -controlled corporations, to render such assistance as it may need in the discharge of its functions.

Section 3. Report to the President. The Committee shall submit to the President, a quarterly report of its activities, assessments of and recommendations on the campaign against passport irregularities and related fraud.

Section 4. Funding. Subject to the availability of funds, the amount of ONE MILLION AND FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P1,500,000) is hereby authorized to be set aside from the Contingent Fund of the President. Appropriations for the succeeding years shall be incorporated in the budget proposals of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Section 5. Effectivity. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 28th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Three.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.
Executive Secretary

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