Philippines New e-Passport System Revealed

Read President Aquino's speech earlier today during a live demo of the new e-passport system.

Speech
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
During the unveiling of the inaugural marker of the Apo Production Unit, Inc. High Security Printing Plant and live demonstration of the new ePassport system

[Delivered at the Lima Technology Center, Batangas, on July 20, 2015]

With less than a year remaining in my term, I find myself looking back to the first days we spent in office. Then, the stories of government and its attached agencies were about corruption, inefficiency, or the vicious cycle wrought by both. The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Production Unit was no different. It was first authorized in 1974 to undertake printing jobs for government agencies. Unfortunately, for more than 30 years, it was unable to fulfill its mandate and suffered from the highest forms of inefficiency. The result: a lack of operating funds, piling debt, and the inability to obtain new contracts. The irony is clear: the situation was so bad that the APO, a GOCC itself, could not even solicit printing jobs from its fellow agencies in government.

Given the APO’s condition in 2010; the decision could have been made to cut our losses and start anew. Instead, we all chose the path of reform. Short-term measures were undertaken to ensure that printing continued; long-term solutions included streamlining and computerizing operations, enhancing the skills of the workforce, and acquiring new printing equipment.

Today, we can see that these efforts are literally paying off: from operating at a loss just a few years ago, to finally fulfilling your mandate and contributing to the national coffers. For instance, in 2014, you turned over P2.7 million to the government. While this is a small amount compared to the remittances of other GOCCs, I am confident that it will continue to grow, given the change that has taken place in the APO.

It is my hope that this upward trend in your performance continues, especially since you have been taking on even more complex work, for instance, in this security printing plant. Here, excise stamps for the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Internal Revenue Stamp Information System are already being produced. I understand that these stamps have a significant contribution to the collection of sin taxes, allowing the BIR to efficiently monitor the manufacturing, sales, and taxation of tobacco products. Even better: the security features included on these excise stamps ensure that they cannot be forged—helping us crackdown on smuggling and tax evasion.

The APO’s capacity to undertake high security printing projects for government agencies is precisely why it has also forged a new partnership with our Department of Foreign Affairs to improve the current production of ePassports. A number of problems were encountered with the previous system: obsolete software and hardware and the inability to meet increasing demand, amongst others. Not to mention the fact that the two integral stages of the production process—booklet printing and assembly, and personalization of passports—were done by two different entities. This naturally leads to inefficiency, which is compounded all the more by the increases in passport applications we’ve been seeing. In 2014, passport issuances breached the 3 million mark for the first time. Question: How can a problematic system handle such great demand?

The service level agreement forged between the DFA and the APO early this year will help ensure that the current system runs smoothly: both through maintenance and technical support provided by APO, and through an added printing facility located here. The good news is: This is only for the short term. I am told that both the DFA and the APO are engaged in negotiations to improve further on the current system, and provide printing and personalization services for the next decade. The benefits of housing the entire ePassport system here are clear: The integration of processes in an expansive, and secure facility.

Let me take this opportunity to express my confidence that you will be able to reach an agreement at the soonest possible time, so that production can also begin as envisioned in January 2016. Now that I have my own ePassport—though it seems as if I cannot use it—I am certainly looking forward to seeing this plant’s operations in full swing, so that the rest of the country can benefit from APO’s services. That is, after all, what reform is about, whether undertaken in the national government or in an institution like this one. You have already achieved so much in such a short amount of time. Moving forward, never forget that yours can only remain a true success story if it remains geared towards the success of the Filipino people.