Aquino Swears In New Immigration Commissioner

[Jack Peterson]

I only said Yesterday about changing things in the Bi and how it may affect us now this.

President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Ronaldo A. Geron as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration. 

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/550294/news/nation/aquino-swears-in-new-immigration-commissioner

 

Wonder what he will have in Store for us?

 

Jack, :lol:

Morning All. :morning1:

[Dave Hounddriver]

Wonder what he will have in Store for us?

 

Changes, to be sure.  Even if no changes are needed he will have to leave his mark.

[mogo51]

Hope he does not go on a chest beating mission, like over here!!

[Mike S]

Interesting as I thought the last one was doing a great job in getting the corruption out of the BI .... but maybe that was the problem ... not enough money finding it's way into the other people or branches of government ..... from their website ....... looks like he implemented and modified more good changes than anyone before him but like his predecessor he was more on helping foreigners than the present government would like ..... after all the Philippines is for Filipinos ..... until such time as they need protection or bailing out from other countries ..... and you can be sure that there will be other changes coming swiftly ..... probably before June 30th of this year ..... JMHO 

:cheersty: 

 

BI ISSUES 25,000 VISAS IN 2015

Exceeds targets, raises bar for 2016

  

Manila, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has issued around 25,000 visas to non-tourist foreign nationals in the country for 2015. This is on top of its other accomplishments including the capture of high profile fugitives and policy improvements. 

“2015 has been exciting for us, being our diamond anniversary year, and with all the accomplishments that we achieved as a team,” said BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison. 

 

Visa issuances

 

Mison attributes the high, positive turnout for visa issuances, upon the reforms introduced in the system that led to more efficient processes and less bureaucracy.

“The figures only show that the Philippines is fast becoming a preferred venue for foreigners not just for tourism, but also as their second home,” said Mison.

Application fees for tourist visa applications exceeded the one billion peso mark for the first time this year.

Mison said that the agency ensured that applications were acted upon expediently. “We streamlined the processes and introduced less stringent policies to make sure that foreign nationals have a pleasant experience in our country,” explained Mison.

This year, the BI began a new procedure on visa issuance, wherein the application no longer required the approval of the board of commissioners. In the latter process, applications are withheld for at least one more week until the board meets as a body. Under the visa task force, visas are approved right away, without need to wait for the schedule of the board meeting. 

 

APEC, Papal visit roles

 

          While being constantly on their toes in keeping the “Good Guys In, Bad Guys Out” on a daily basis, the BI’s role was not discounted in insuring the safety of the heads of states during the APEC Economic Leaders Summit in November and during the visit of Pope Francis in January.

In time for the APEC summit, the BI has strengthened the linkage to the Interpol’s derogatory database in order to enhance border security and efficiency at major international ports. To reinforce this capacity, Interpol has provided state-of-the-art scanning and database equipment referred to as the Mobile Interpol Network Database, or the MIND. By swiping the passport through the scanner, the identification of the passenger is cross-checked among the 50 million records in Interpol’s database, composed of fugitives, sex offenders, and lost passports from 190 member countries of the Interpol. This device allowed the BI to strengthen its capacity against the “Bad Guys.” 

 

Apprehension of high-risk fugitives

 

With the close and constant coordination with counterpart agencies here and abroad, coupled with up-to-date monitoring equipment, the BI was able to apprehend 507 illegal aliens, including high profile fugitives from China, Korea, and the UK.

By virtue of mission orders, the BI apprehended and deported Douglas Slade, whose links to a UK activist group called the Pedophile Information Exchange have been reported since the 1970’s and involved in Child Abuse and Child Pornography in the Philippines. Slade was deported after the BI found that his reported acts posed a significant risk and threat to our children’s wellbeing.

Lee Sang Te, top 2 most wanted Korean fugitive in the Philippens, who has been wanted by the his government since 2011 for the crime of “inflicting bodily injury resulting from robbery,” was finally arrested in September 2015 in a highly sensitive operation.

Chinese national Zhang Dongman, also among the top fugitives in his country, for economic crimes in an amount equivalent to Php 35 million, was also arrested in 2015 at an airport in Pasay.

Chinese comprised the majority (54%) of apprehended foreign nationals, for working without the necessary permits in employment sites. Only 12% of those apprehended were fugitives.

 

Paperless annual report process, policy improvements

 

The new, paperless annual report process, allowed foreign nationals to fill-out the application forms online, thus, reducing time spent in the BI office. This resulted to the compliance of 111,923 foreign nationals—an increase of 40.4% from the previous year.

Registration and identification of foreign nationals was also made easy through the new ACR I-Card designs and the Special Security Registration Number (SSRN). The new designs provided for more security features and allowed immigration personnel to identify the status of the holders even from afar. The SSRN, on the other hand, identifies foreign nationals through identical alphanumeric numbers, removing confusion on similar names and spellings.

 

Policy improvements

 

The BI removed the six-month passport validity requirement for tourists coming into the Philippines to allow foreign nationals more freedom and flexibility as to their travel. “We have observed that some foreign nationals come to the Philippines at the spur of the moment, or for certain urgent reasons, and they no longer have the time to process for extension of their passport validity. This is the reason why we recommended the removal of this requirement.” said Mison.

          In November, the 2015 Omnibus Rules of Deportation was issued, consolidating all piece-meal-issued rules and harmonized all processes related to deportation. The BI has also set timelines for each process, thus compelling its own officers to deliver the services on time.

“As we end 2015 with a strong finish, we eagerly welcome 2016 on higher ground,” said Mison.

 

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