MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Filipinos are one step closer to having passports valid for 10 years instead of the current 5 years, after the Senate joined the House of Representatives in approving the proposal.

Voting 18-0, senators passed Senate Bill 1365 on 3rd and final reading on Monday, May 15. The House approved a similar measure, House Bill 4767, back in February.

The Senate and the House are now set to convene a bicameral conference committee to thresh out differences between the two versions of the measure.

Senator Cynthia Villar, sponsor of the bill and vice chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, said it would make traveling abroad easier, especially for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

She added that the Philippine passport’s current validity of 5 years is, in reality, less than 5 years because foreign travel is prohibited for individuals whose passports are about to expire within 6 months’ time or less.

“We owe a lot to our OFWs. They keep our economy afloat with their remittances of approximately $50 billion annually. Giving them a 10-year guarantee on their right to travel abroad will certainly be a great help to them,” Villar said in a statement.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, committee chairman and incoming secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), sees a swift passage of the bill into law, saying it is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s goal to improve public services.

“Simplifying our passport application system would ease our people’s burden of having to renew their passports every few years. It would also prevent any backlogs in the issuance of passports,” Cayetano said.

Under the proposal, regular passports shall be valid for a period of 10 years. Those 18 years old and under shall be issued passports with a 5-year validity.

Duterte, in his first State of the Nation Address, pushed for the extension of passport validity, noting how applicants sleep outside of DFA satellite offices to wait for their turn.

Villar will lead the Senate contingent to the bicameral conference committee. Joining her are senators Joel Villanueva, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV. – Rappler.com