pr090

Press Release No. 090-03
March 20, 2003

DFA REFERS MACHINE READABLE PASSPORT BOT CONTRACT TO DOJ, COA FOR LEGAL AND ADVISORY OPINION

The Department of Foreign Affairs has decided to refer to the Department of Justice and Commission on Audit the build-operate and transfer (BOT) Machine Readable Passport and Visa (MRP/V) Program due to unresolved legal issues.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople approved the recommendation of the MRPV Board of the DFA for a third party opinion to determine the legality of certain provisions of the contract.

Ople said the DFA is committed to providing the public with a world-class, tamper-proof passport and graft-free passport services at affordable prices. “It is my responsibility to ensure that this contract is above board and consistent with our laws,” he stressed.

The MRP/V Project is a BOT project of the DFA under contract with BCA International Corporation intended to upgrade the standard of Philippine Passports in compliance with “machine readable” standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The project would also enable the DFA to build a passport data base to combat passport fraud.

The Resident Auditor of the Commission on Audit (COA) assigned to the DFA, Ms. Corazon Gomez pointed out that certain provisions of the Amended BOT contract between BCA International Corporation and the DFA, particularly on passport fee increases, will violate specific provisions of the Republic Act No. 8239, otherwise known as the Philippine Passport Law of 1996.

Section 16 of the Passport Law of 1996, which was authored by former Senator and now DFA Secretary Blas F. Ople, provides that there shall be no increase in passport fees “more than once every three (3) years”.

The Amended BOT Contract between BCA International Corporation and DFA provides for “an automatic adjusticment on (the) Machine Readaable Passport fee at the start of the second year of the Concession Period”.

Despite earnest effort by the MRP/V Advisory Board chaired by Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin and representatives of the BOT Center, BCA International Corporation and the DFA resident COA auditor, the issue has not been resolved.

Secretary Ople has ordered the referral of the Amended BOT contract for review by the DOJ and COA to ensure that every provision is consistent with existing laws.