Oberthur provides 8 million ePassports and end-to-end system in the Philippines

Oberthur Technologies has announced that it has now provided over 8 million ePassports to the Philippines, as well as a dedicated end-to-end system.

According to the company, it has been providing the Philippine Government with a secure system to the Department of Foreign Affairs, and also the electronic covers for the national passport.

“As a system integrator, Oberthur Technologies is very proud to have provided over 8 million electronic passports to the Philippines, along with a full end-to-end system,” Olivier Prestel, Managing Director of the Identity Business Unit at Oberthur Technologies said. “Oberthur Technologies is dedicated to offering the most advanced services and technologies to governments in order to make citizens’ lives easier, more secure and convenient.”

The Philippine ePassport is compliant with ICAO requirements and also includes a microchip with personal and biometric information, with Common Criteria certification.

Reported previously, the Philippine ePassport may soon also include iris information. According to a senior diplomat in the country, an open round of bidding will occur before any plans are confirmed.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines recently stopped the ongoing validation of biometric voter records in preparation for the country’s upcoming elections, as the commission needed to increase its workforce to deal with the volume of data.

Comelec has recently come out to say that there are more than nine million voters in the country that have not yet registered biometrics for 2016 elections. 

Though 2016 is nearly three years away, nine million voters is a significant constituency, and the registration process requires manpower. This is a massive undertaking, and the 2016 election will be one to watch.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the number of registered voters for the country had exceeded 52 million.

According to a recent research report, Oberthur, Gemalto, Morpho and Giesecke & Devrient are currently dominating the ePassport market.

Article Topics

Comelec  |  epassport  |  Oberthur Technologies  |  Philippines