DFA Reconvenes Inter-Agency Committee Against Passport Irregularities 

Members of the Inter-agency Committee on Passport Irregularities (ICPI) during the 4th ICPI Meeting held on 06 December 2023 at the Bulwagang Elpidio Quirino, DFA.

PASAY 15 December 2023 – The Department of Foreign Affairs called on the immediate reconvening of the Inter-Agency Committee Against Passport Irregularities (ICPI) on 06 December 2023 to address the alleged issuance of Philippine passports to foreign nationals and to strengthen coordination among member agencies to deter passport irregularities.

The meeting was chaired by DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Jesus S. Domingo and DFA Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Adelio Angelito S. Cruz.  The meeting was attended by representatives from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bureau of Immigration (BI), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), National Bureau of Immigration (NBI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine National Police (PNP). 

NBI provides updates to the ICPI regarding the status of their ongoing investigations pertaining to foreign nationals who fraudulently acquired Philippine passports.

Usec Domingo highlighted that the committee should adopt a mechanism wherein tighter and closer coordination among member agencies shall be created to ensure immediate verification and cross-matching of information contained in PSA certificates and government issued identification cards through a memorandum of agreement between the DFA and ICPI member agencies, as well as with ID issuing agencies. This measure is also envisioned to strengthen interagency cooperation to ensure real-time verification due to the proliferation of fraudulent documents and government identification cards used in passport applications. 

The DFA further reiterated to its partner agencies that Philippine Passports are not for sale to foreign nationals and does not tolerate attempts of foreign nationals to secure Philippine Passports through illicit means. 

The DFA emphasizes that it strictly observes a Zero Tolerance Policy for Philippine identification documents obtained through illegal means and continues to coordinate with the concerned government agencies to tighten security measures, streamline verification of identification documents, and facilitate investigation and filing of appropriate charges. The next ICPI meeting will be held before the end of 2023. END