(Eagle News)– Foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. announced on Tuesday the suspension of issuing hajj passports due to the incident of 177 Indonesians who used Philippine passports but intercepted by immigration personnel on August 19.
Yasay also expressed his willingness to end the issuance of hajj passports since there are proposals in Congress to extend the validity of passports from five years to ten years.
“I have issued an order for the immediate suspension of the issuance of these hajj passports pending the otucome of the investigation. I am predisposed at this point to make the suspension on a permanent basis by making representations with Congress as they deliberate on the law that will extend the term of the passports from five years to 10 years to have this hajj passport withdraw completely,” he said during a budget hearing at House of Representatives.
“The suspension is temporary but the secretary of foreign affairs is contemplating to make it permanent through legislation ,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Charles Jose added.
A hajj passport is a special document specifically issued for the pilgrimage to Mecca, and is different from regular passports.
The DFA is still conducting its own investigation on 177 fake Filipinos intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
