Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled;

SECTION 1. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8239, otherwise known as the "Philippine Passport Act of 1996", is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 10. Validity.- Regular passports issued under this Act shall be valid for a period of ten (10) years: Provided, however, That for individuals under eighteen (18) years of age, only a passport with five (5)-year validity shall be issued: Provided, further, That the issuing authority may limit the period of validity to less than ten (10) years, whenever in the national economic interest or political stability of the country such restriction is necessary: Provided, finally, That a new passport may be issued to replace one which validity has expired, the old passport being returned to the holder after cancellation."

SEC. 2. Implementing Authority.- The Department of Foreign Affairs shall issue the necessary implementing rules and regulations and adopt best practices to ensure that the provisions of this Act are implemented in convergence with necessary reforms to make the passport processing system seamless, convinient and pro-people, and the production and security of passports at par with technological advances and world standards.

SEC. 3. Separability Clause.- If any part or provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions or parts not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 4. Repealing Clause.- All laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity.- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official gazette or in a national newspaper of general circulation

Approved,

(SGD.) PANTALEON D. ALVAREZ         Speaker of the House of Representatives

(SGD.) AQUILINO "KOKO" PIMENTEL III     President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1365 and House Bill No. 4767 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 17, 2017 and May 16, 2017, respectively.

(SGD.) CESAR STRAIT PAREJA         Secretary General House of Representatives

(SGD.) LUTGARDO B. BARBO         Secretary of the Senate

Approved: AUG 02 2017

  (SGD.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
  President of the Philippines