Visa Renewal @ J.Center Mall, Cebu City

[robert k]

I thought using the express lane fee to pay overtime was abolished, not the express lane fee itself?

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, RBM said:

Not Jack, Bacolod is business as usual.

Hmmm but Bruce I would question "USUAL" 

[Mike J]

I believe Robert is correct, the fee still stands and DU30 has directed the funds to go to the general treasury and not to be used for overtime.  BI officials appealed the decision and said they were losing personnel due to the reduced salary.  Here is a fairly recent recap of why DU30 took the action he did and why the appeal was denied.  If the report is true and OT is capped at 50% of base, but the OT paid was actually 5 times base, there must have been MASSIVE fraud.

<< Article follows >>

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno has rejected the proposal to use airport express lane fees for the overtime pay of employees from the Bureau of Immigration.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II made the proposal during the Cabinet meeting on Monday evening.

The Justice Chief made the proposal to prevent further exodus of BI personnel.

“He [Diokno] rejected the proposal saying it would be illegal and violative of Republic Act 10924 or the General Appropriations Act of 2017,” Aguirre said, adding there really is a need for Congress to pass a bill to address the problem on overtime pay of the immigration personnel.

Early this year, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the use of express lane charges collected by the BI for payment of salaries of casual and contractual personnel, confidential agents and job order employees, augmentation of salaries and the health insurance premium of personnel who render services beyond office hours.

Records showed that BI personnel were paid P784 million in overtime pay last year, which was five times bigger than their basic salaries.

Diokno questioned the overtime compensation of BI officers, saying that casual personnel like them could only be paid with a maximum of 50 percent of their monthly salary for overtime pay per month.

Under R.A. 10924, the said funds collected from use of express lanes will now go to the national treasury.

Prior to this fiscal reform, BI officers who earn P14,000 in monthly salary were getting as much as P48,000 a month in overtime pay.

The DBM has created 887 new plantilla items for the bureau and also allotted PHP224.835 million to pay for the extra work rendered by the immigration officers, but Aguirre stressed that such amount would only allow a maximum of PHP5,000 in overtime pay of each immigration personnel.

<< End Article >>  << Link follows >>

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/886491/aguirre-loses-bid-to-use-express-lane-fees-for-bi-overtime-pay
 

[robert k]

Curious how they could put in that much overtime with only one hour a day added to the schedule? Still closed weekends and holidays?

[Queenie O.]

Russellmania, maybe a little advantage would be to arrive at the J Mall branch earlier to get in ahead of others. Even though the mall opens at 10AM, you can take a side elevator that gets you in to just the BI office by 9AM. I try to get in as early as I can, but no matter what there will be waits of course.

[virginprune]

I did my renewal in Gensan 2 weeks ago, everything as per usual regarding price and time span. Reporting again end of June, will update regarding any changes.

[russellmania]

My neighbor says he takes his passport to  travel agent in gaisano mall and for an extra P500 they get his visa renew. If you cant beat'em ,join'em! From minglanilla to mandaue back and forth in traffic times 2... it's worth P500. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

5 minutes ago, russellmania said:

My neighbor says he takes his passport to  travel agent in gaisano mall and for an extra P500 they get his visa renew.

He is lucky.  That is the price they were charging 10 years ago and to see someone still doing it for that price is quite good.  It makes me wonder, though, if he is getting a 'legitimate' stamp or a back-room stamp as the people I know getting the legitimate stamps are charging 2 or 3 times that amount these days.  (It is legal to use an agent, just not a 'fixer'.  When it comes to the BI there is a fine line.)

[russellmania]

I asked him and he gave me specific directions on the 2nd level in Gaisano Minglanilla there's a travel agency he has been using. All he said was thats how he gets his visa renewed. He didn mention backroom stamp or anything underhanded going on.

[Jollygoodfellow]

4 hours ago, russellmania said:

I asked him and he gave me specific directions on the 2nd level in Gaisano Minglanilla there's a travel agency he has been using. All he said was thats how he gets his visa renewed. He didn mention backroom stamp or anything underhanded going on.

Maybe he doesn't know, besides it's not a stamp any more it's a sticker. When I wake up I have a rant over the BI so will start a new topic.