Philippine Immigration

FROM THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Foreigners coming in and going out of the country reportedly no longer cringe at the mention of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on account of reforms initiated by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan since his appointment by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in May 2007.

One of the first things Libanan did — in compliance with the President’s order — was to stop the “escort services” at the airports. This was the practice of BI personnel of letting foreigners enter and leave the country without proper documentation. The same escort services were also offered to overseas Filipino workers who did not have work permits and traveling only on tourist visas and ended up being exploited by their employers abroad.

Then there is the visa-upon-arrival program designed to combat human smuggling, support investment and tourism promotions and improve visa fees collection.

By creating a safer and more foreign investor-conducive atmosphere in the country, Libanan’s office said, the bureau is encouraging the inflow of more direct foreign investments.

This visa approval-upon-arrival concept has won the nod of the United Korean Community Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Indian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, for resulting in increased foreign direct investments, more tourist arrivals, and, most important, preventing travelers from being exploited by syndicates.

The Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce, however, has a word for Libanan, which is that his reducing human smuggling in the country is “fueling efforts by syndicates to destroy his (Libanan’s) credibility.” This comes as no surprise since it has become common knowledge that bad guys want to get rid of good guys.

One installation that helped push BI’s new image is the hidden cameras at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) which monitor incoming and outgoing passenger traffic, and spot possible anomalous transactions between BI personnel and travelers. Cameras are more truthful than human speculations — unless of course some editing is done on the films, an act that the BI chief would surely have perpetrators punished or dismissed.

Libanan’s pro-investment visa approval upon arrival — a “no-touch, no-contact” policy in dealing with passengers, is to ensure that immigration personnel do not get involved in operations that rightfully belongs to the Bureau of Immigration personnel.

The chief also set forth a “tattoo is art” policy to correct the impression that people who have tattoo marks in their bodies are criminals and so should be refused entry into the country. Commissioner Libanan, in a humane gesture, has argued against the practice, saying that not all people are criminals or have police records as some of them have simply asked to be tattooed for art’s sake or personal reasons.

Libanan thought of rationalizing visa issuance in the country upon his discovery of the big discrepancy between the number of visas issued by foreign service posts and the actual number of tourist visa-holders. He saw that from 2005 to June 2007, visas issued by DFA foreign posts numbered 39,452, while the number of actual arrivals of tourists reached 33,295, or a discrepancy of 4,843. The 4,843 translates to a lot of income for the government in the amount of P43.6 million.

The visa-approval-upon-arrival program will remove the discrepancy in as much as visas are given foreigners as they enter the country and after submitting such requirements like letter-requests from sponsoring organizations, payment of visa fee, and clear photocopy of the bio-page of the applicant’s passport.

Citizens are enjoined to support Libanan in his efforts to cleanse the BI’s once-Augean stables, improve the agency’s image further, and earn revenue for the government. (Philippine Star)