THE bill proposing a body of measures that will upgrade the systems and processes in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has been approved by the House of Representatives, moving the institution’s journey to modernization one step forward. Through the bill, the BI seeks to embark on an aggressive plan to make its systems conform to the demands of the times and professionalize its staff.
The BI is attached to the Department of Justice and implements local immigration, citizenship, and alien admission and registration laws.
The lack of full automation and digitization has contributed to the mounting challenges the BI faces today in the pursuit of its work — whether in airports or ports — which is basically guarding our borders. This problem, we hope, will be addressed by the proposed legislation.
‘“There is an urgent need to modernize the Bureau of Immigration to make it comparable with similar agencies in other countries and place it in step with the advances in communications and technology.”’
Automation and digitization are embodied in House Bill No. 8203 which was recently approved by the Committee on Justice and Committee on Appropriations, and later by the House plenary, in a nominal voting that garnered 287 affirmative votes, with zero negative votes and zero abstentions.
House minority leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan originally introduced the BI Modernization Bill in 2004, when he was representative of the lone district of Eastern Samar. He refiled the bill last year upon his election as party-list representative. Libanan served as BI commissioner for three years during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Speaker Martin Romualdez said the measure will improve travel experience and at the same time tighten up our border security. He noted that the measure has been filed and re-filed for around 20 years, during which time a lot of technologies have changed.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman noted that “the law on the Bureau of Immigration is of Jurassic vintage. It was enacted during the Commonwealth Period under Commonwealth Act No. 613, otherwise known as the `Philippine Immigration Act of 1940,’ or 83 years ago. There is an urgent need to modernize the Bureau of Immigration to make it comparable with similar agencies in other countries and place it in step with the advances in communications and technology.”
The bill authorizes the BI to retain in a trust fund “no more than P1.2 billion” of its annual income from fees, fines, and penalties. The fund would then be used to bankroll the BI’s information technology (IT) projects, among other modernization plans, and to build up the capabilities of immigration officers.
This development encourages current Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco and other BI officials to inspire their subordinates to render better service, even as they work for the approval of a similar counterpart bill in the Senate.
