DFA-OCA Attends the 31st International Civil Aviation Organization Implementation and Capacity Building Working Group Meeting

OCA Assistant Secretary Ma. Antonina M. Mendoza-Oblena (front, fourth from left) and Principal Assistant Raymond Aljon A. Cusipag (leftmost) joins the other participants of ICAO ICBWG Meeting for a group photo.

MANILA 05 June 2025 — In preparation for the procurement of the Next Generation Philippine Passport, Office of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Ma. Antonina M. Mendoza-Oblena and Principal Assistant Raymond Aljon A. Cusipag participated in the 31st Meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Implementation and Capacity Building Working Group (ICBWG) in Southport, UK on 27-30 May 2025.

The 4-day event, which was attended by travel document experts from various travel document issuing authorities, border control authorities, and private consulting companies, focused on the revision of the various guidelines issued by the ICAO ahead of the Technical Advisory Group Travel Identification Program 5 (TAG/TRIP/5) in November 2025 where the output of the ICBWG will be taken up and approved.

Dion Chamberlain, ICBWG Chair, officially opened the meeting by delivering the welcoming address, setting the agenda, and discussing the working group rules. Thereafter, Gemma Palmer, ICBWG Secretary, and Christiane DerMarkar, ICAO Secretariat, discussed the action points from the last ICBWG meeting and updates on ICAO’s current activities, respectively.

Throughout the meeting, ICBWG subgroups met to discuss a variety of topics and issues such as the security of handling and issuance of travel documents, the issuance of travel documents to refugees and stateless persons, the implementation of digital travel credentials, best practices in procurement, consistency of non-traditional travel documents, evidence of identity, and updates on small island and developing states. Besides attending the various subgroup meetings, the OCA delegation also visited the Passport Office in Liverpool for a guided walkthrough of the passport process.

On the last day of the meeting, the leads of the different subgroups from the Netherlands, Canada, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Finland, Papua New Guinea, and the UNHCR presented the summary of each subgroup’s discussion and output. Dion Chamberlain likewise led the discussion on how the ICBWG intends to move forward to further promote ICAO’s agenda and principles.

The ICBWG is exploring the possibility of holding one of its meetings in the Philippines next year. END

The 31st ICAO ICBWG Meeting was held in Smedley Hydro, a historic building, which now houses the General Register Office of England and Wales.