Bi To Launch Biometrics Scheme For Travelers

[Steve]

BI TO LAUNCH BIOMETRICS SCHEME FOR TRAVELERS

March 07, 2013

           The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it will push through with its plan to implement a biometrics project at the airports as it will improve the country’s border security and bolster the agency’s capability to thwart the entry of foreign terrorists and other illegal aliens.

            BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the project is tentively scheduled for launching by the middle of the year even as he belied allegations that the P50-million project is a wastage of government funds.

            Aside from improving border security, he the project will expedite the processing of travelers and prevent foreigners from using fraudulent documents to enter the country.

“It will also enable us to identify overstaying aliens and prevent those who are in our derogatory list to leave or enter the country,” David said.

          Basically, the biometrics scheme involves the use of an ink-less device and digital camera in capturing the fingerprints and photographs of international travelers.

            BI Associate Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara, who chairs the BI bidding committee, assured travelers that biometrics information collected from them will be kept in the strictest confidentiality and used only for law enforcement and official purposes.

            Mangotara stressed that the project will help achieve the BI’s goal to modernize its facilities and provide its immigration officers with an effective tool to identify arriving and departing travelers and detect spurious travel documents.

            He also cited the need to obtain biometrics data for persons who are presently included in the BI watchlist, hold departure list, lookout bulletin, and blacklist so they can easily be detected if they attempt to enter or leave the country.

            According to Dino Visconde, BI computer section chief, Congress has appropriated this year P94 million for the project which is expected to be completed in 2018.

            Vizconde said a pre-bidding conference for data capturing machines that will be procured was held last Feb. 28 and that three internationally-renowned computer firms from Germany, Korea and US took part in the bidding.

            Mangotara thus described as premature a graft complaint that allegedly was filed recently against BI officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the biometrics project.

            “How could there be anomalies when we have not even awarded the project yet to a competent bidder?”  Mangotara asked.###

[JJReyes]

P50 million sounds like they are getting a bargain. More likely these are older, but still usable equipment from Homeland Security. Whenever new equipment are installed, the older equipment is either donated or sold to less developed and developing countries.

 

Another source for this type of biometric equipment is the gaming industry. All the casinos in the United States are networked. If you have been banned from one casino on suspicion of card counting (blackjack) or similar incident, you will be stopped and refused entry in other casinos.

[Americano]

BI TO LAUNCH BIOMETRICS SCHEME FOR TRAVELERS

March 07, 2013

           The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it will push through with its plan to implement a biometrics project at the airports as it will improve the country’s border security and bolster the agency’s capability to thwart the entry of foreign terrorists and other illegal aliens.

            BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the project is tentively scheduled for launching by the middle of the year even as he belied allegations that the P50-million project is a wastage of government funds.

            Aside from improving border security, he the project will expedite the processing of travelers and prevent foreigners from using fraudulent documents to enter the country.

“It will also enable us to identify overstaying aliens and prevent those who are in our derogatory list to leave or enter the country,” David said.

          Basically, the biometrics scheme involves the use of an ink-less device and digital camera in capturing the fingerprints and photographs of international travelers.

            BI Associate Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara, who chairs the BI bidding committee, assured travelers that biometrics information collected from them will be kept in the strictest confidentiality and used only for law enforcement and official purposes.

            Mangotara stressed that the project will help achieve the BI’s goal to modernize its facilities and provide its immigration officers with an effective tool to identify arriving and departing travelers and detect spurious travel documents.

            He also cited the need to obtain biometrics data for persons who are presently included in the BI watchlist, hold departure list, lookout bulletin, and blacklist so they can easily be detected if they attempt to enter or leave the country.

            According to Dino Visconde, BI computer section chief, Congress has appropriated this year P94 million for the project which is expected to be completed in 2018.

            Vizconde said a pre-bidding conference for data capturing machines that will be procured was held last Feb. 28 and that three internationally-renowned computer firms from Germany, Korea and US took part in the bidding.

            Mangotara thus described as premature a graft complaint that allegedly was filed recently against BI officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the biometrics project.

            “How could there be anomalies when we have not even awarded the project yet to a competent bidder?”  Mangotara asked.###

You can't obtain biometrics data from people you can't find, so the statement above in Bold has no merit.

 

My guess is, collecting biometrics data from all travelers entering the Philippines will cause a decrease in tourists and therefore income from them.  The Philippines already has enough requirements for visitors, adding more requirements will discourage tourism.

 

 

[JJReyes]

You are correct Americano that a stand alone program by BI does not make sense. 

 

Last week, I renewed my driver's license. The camera did facial biometrics and they collected digital format fingerprints. My understanding is the data collected by the state of Hawaii will be shared with federal agencies. It is possible the proposed biometric collection in the Philippines will also be entered into USA databanks. There are probably confidential agreements regarding this matter.

 

The good news for me is the new driver's license is valid for 8 years.

[Markham]

The only way they can make this scheme work is by issuing proper ACR cards at the airport. Like that's going to happen!

[Americano]

If the biometric pictures they make are no better than the pictures on drivers license or ACR cards then they would be useless anyway.  The picture on my driver license is so white that I look like a ghost. The last one looked like that too. And, that's using a digital camera.  My ACR card is not much better.  The picture on a friend of mine's ACR card is completely black with no facial features at all. The picture is completely worthless.

 

Just sounds like another way to charge tourists a fee at the airports to me.  You know it won't be free.  If the Philippines keeps increasing the requirements tourists will go to other tourist friendly countries.  In November 2011 my wife and I went to Hong Kong as tourists for a few days.  It didn't cost us anything to enter Hong Kong and didn't cost anything to leave.  The Philippines government wants to charge all tourists for coming and going.  Aren't they smart enough to figure out that continuing to add more fees will destroy tourism?

[Americano]

The only way they can make this scheme work is by issuing proper ACR cards at the airport. Like that's going to happen!

 

Mark,

 

It took 3 months just to get my first ACR card printed.  That would be a very long wait at the airport.

[i am bob]

Do you really think that, once this is all set up, that they are going to go by the picture and thumbprint shown on the card?  It's all in the chip!  Now if you have a card that has a bad picture or thumbprint, that does sound like reasonable cause to have you delayed in Immigration and a more thorough check carried out.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Basically, the biometrics scheme involves the use of an ink-less device  in capturing the fingerprints of international travelers.

 

 

Now you will see an increase of double arm amputees visiting or leaving the country.  :mocking:

[Americano]

Will Muslim women be required to remove their Burka which completely covers their face except for their eyes or will they be exempt from the law just like they are for some other laws in the Philippines?  For example, a Filipino is required to have a Birth Certificate for almost everything they do, going to school, getting an ID, for Marriage, to Vote, etc. etc. but a Muslim is not required to have a Birth Certificate.  This is a double standard which is not good for any country.  This is one reason Muslims come into the Philippines illegally.  They are foreigners just like other foreigners but are not required to prove where they were born and therefore live in the Philippines illegally without ever getting a Visa.