Philippine Immigration

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has beefed up the members of its task force assigned to process the thousands of Filipinos who are being deported from Sabah to Mindanao as an offshoot of Malaysia’s ongoing crackdown against undocumented aliens.

BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan assigned three more immigration officers to the task force upon recommendation of task force head Jose Carandang, who reported that there are still an estimated 10,000 Filipinos currently awaiting deportation in Sabah. The task force, which now has seven members, was formed by Libanan a month ago at the request of Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City where the ship carrying the deportees used to arrive.

It was learned that Carandang sought the fielding of more personnel to the task force after the ship MV Danica Joy that previously transports the deportess from Sabah to Zamboanga suspended its operation.

Unlike the MV Danica Joy, the fast craft Weesam Expresss that currently picks the deportees stops first at the port in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and then in Jolo, Sulu before going to Zamboanga.

Thus, the deportees are now processed by the task force at the Bongao port, the ship’s first destination after leaving Sabah.

Carandang said an average of 400 to 500 Filipinos are being deported from Sabah every week as the ship, which sails twice a week, can carry only a maximum of about 240 passengers.

He disclosed that a little over a thousand deportees were processed by the task force since it was created a month ago.

Carandang said the task force is still months away from completing its job as there are still more than 10,000 undocumented Filipinos presently detained in Sabah as a result of their arrest by Malaysian immigration authorities.

Most of the deportees, he said, had worked as domestic helpers, factory workers or market vendors in Malaysia without the proper documents. (BI News)

An overstaying Japanese tourist is now behind bars and facing deportation after he was arrested by Bureau of Immigration (BI) operatives for working in the country without a permit.

Arrested last Wednesday on the strength of a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan was Masaaki Hashimoto, 40, who is presently detained at the Bicutan immigration jail. Libanan said Hashimoto, who was arrested in his workplace at the 7th floor of the Magsaysay Bldg. along Roxas Blvd., Manila, is undergoing deportation proceedings for overstaying and illegally working in the country.

“He violated the conditions of his stay by not extending his tourist visa for more than three years and for engaging in gainful employment without the required work permit and visa,” Libanan said.

The immigration act forbids foreigners from working here without first securing a work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and a pre-arranged employment visa from the BI.

Libanan said illegally working foreigners prejudices the interest of Filipino workers who are equally qualified for the jobs performed by said foreigners.

BI-law enforcement division acting chief Wilfredo Poquez disclosed that Hashimoto worked as a business development officer for the Atlantic Globe Movers Inc.,

He said the arresting agents caught the Japanese in the act of performing his job while seated at his office desk.

“We also seized several documents proving that he is indeed in the company’s employ as its business development officer,” Poquez added.

A check of the BI’s travel information records also showed that the Hashimoto’s tourist visa expired on July 21, 2005 and he never bothered to extend or update his stay in the country. (BI News)

‘BI detention center not a boarding house for foreigners’—Libanan

A number of foreigners would rather stay in detention in the Philippines than be sent back to their home countries. But the Bureau of Immigration will not allow this, the reason a Belgian national was deported last month, together with 21 others. Lucas Saeran, a Belgian national, has practically made the BI detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City his home, having stayed in the center for the last five years. He was in detention for being an overstaying and undocumented foreigner.

BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan ordered the deportation of Saeran and several others who had been in detention for over a year, saying the detention center is no boarding house for foreigners.

Records at the BI jail show that the number of detainees has gone down from a high of 160 when Libanan took office last year to only 72 detainees last month. For bringing down the population in the center, the BI was cited by the Commission on Audit for outstanding use of government resources after a value for money audit.

Even Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has commended Libanan for successfully decongesting the Bicutan jail. “We need more people of your caliber in government who can produce positive results,” Gonzales said in his July 25, 2008 letter congratulating Libanan for a job well done.

BI Chief of Staff, Lawyer Norman Tansingco said the case of Saeran is not unsual, adding that some foreigners would rather want to stay in the center and be with their family in the Philippines.

“Their Filipino family is their only family. Many of them think they have nothing to return to in their home country,” Tansingco said, in citing the reason why these foreign nationals would rather stay in detention, adding that some others though fear returning to their home country as they have pending criminal cases their own country.

Libanan, however, will not allow overstay of foreigners in detention as this results in unreasonable spending by the government, the reason he moved for decongestion of the BI detention center as the cost of keeping detainees was a big drain to the BI budget.

Libanan ordered the BI legal division to expedite the resolution of cases of the foreigners. Aside from Saeran, other illegal foreigners whose cases were given immediate attention were Chinese women suspected of prostitution and fugitives; and American Timothy Leonard Lantz, an alleged pedophile and convicted sex offender in Ohio. (BI News)

This was the suggestion of Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan as he called on local government officials to get actively involved in putting to stop this abuse of Filipino women and minors.

Speaking at the Balitaan forum at the Hotel Rambrandt in Quezon City yesterday, Libanan said the modus operandi of human traffickers starts at the barangay where illegal recruiters freely dupe hapless women and children with promises of high paying jobs abroad.
“Human trafficking is a product of illegal recruitment. As a crime, human trafficking is consummated at the point of destination when the victims end up abused or worse, forced to prostitution,” he explained.

According to Libanan syndicates in human trafficking use the right of Filipinos to travel to facilitate their exit from the country. “The right to travel by a Filipino is enshrined in the constitution,” he added.

The BI chief said the character of the crime requires a multi-agency approach in its containment, starting at the point of recruitment.. He said a multi-agency task force led by the Department of Justice is now in place even as the BI has set up systems and technologies that have discouraged human trafficking using the airports.

“But the BI point in the containment of this crime is more at the airports when BI is tipped off or able to profile tourist-workers who are found to be carrying spurious travel papers,” Libanan explained, adding the vigilance at the barangay level should effectively stop the crime.

“The PNP with LGUs should be the first line of the defense. Then the department of Foreign Affairs on the issuance of passports should be second line of defense. The third line of defense is the BI at the ports of exit. Then the last line of defense is the consular office at the place of destination,” Libanan said in describing the check points in the system to prevent abuse of Filipino women and minors abroad.

He said the Philippines is a prime target of human traffickers as source and transit point of their victims because the Philippines is a known labor-sending country.

He said many Filipinos lured by these syndicates end up in prostitution or slavery, and are prone to all sorts of abuse abroad because they don’t have the proper work documents.

Libanan said the BI has a 24/7 hotline to receive reports of violations of immigrations laws aside from providing assistance to the public doing business with the BI. The BI will receive reports even of suspicious illegal recruitment activities especially by foreigners in the country.. BI hotline is 1-800-100-ALIENS or 5236615 and 5243769. BI News

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has forged an agreement with the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (KCCPI) to facilitate the expeditious processing of visas and other immigration documents of Korean investors and expatriates in the country.

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan and KCCPI president Jae Jang signed last Wednesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to formalize their partnership and cooperation in servicing the immigration requirements of the thousands of Koreans now doing business or are working in the Philippines.

Libanan hailed the agreement as an important milestone as it would encourage Korean businessmen and tourists entering the country to comply with the country’s immigration laws and regulations and pay their fees, thus generating more revenues for the government.

BI statistics showed that last year alone, more than 700,000 Koreans entered the Philippines either as tourists, expatriates, students, and businessmen.

Koreans also account for the biggest number of foreigners who arrived in the country over the last few years.

Libanan said the accord is the BI’s way of reciprocating the millions of dollars in aid and investment that the Korean government and business community have poured into the country.

He also cited Korea’s policy of opening its labor market to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), more than 5,000 of whom are now working there, mostly as domestic helpers and factory workers.

Under the MOA, the BI and KCCPI agreed to form a joint committee that will meet regularly to discuss issues and concerns affecting Koreans in the Philippines.

The BI also agreed to inform the KCCPI about any investigation, arrest and detention of a member of the chamber by the bureau’s operatives and legal officers so that the concerned Korean could be provided with legal assistance.

For its part, the chamber promised to inform and educate its members, including their spouses and dependents, about Philippine immigration laws and latest regulations, memoranda rules and regulations issued by the BI through the conduct of seminars where BI officials would serve as resource persons.

While the KCCPI promised to respect the BI’s mandate as chief enforcer of immigration laws, the bureau will also uphold the rights of the chamber’s members and extend to them due courtesy as legitimate investors in the country, the MOA stated. (BI News)

The United States Embassy’s Office of Regional Affairs recently lauded BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan and the rank and file personnel of the Bureau of Immigration for successfully thwarting a terrorist threat targeting the US Embassy and three other embassies earlier this year.

US Embassy Regional Affairs Counselor John “Chris” Wood cited the people behind the BI who “professionally and systematically supported efforts to prevent possible attacks on the US Embassy and other local and foreign domestic targets last February.”

It can be recalled that the BI deported Jordanian Moh’d Amro who allegedly plotted to blow up embassies in the Philippines. Amro was deported based on the testimony of fellow Jordanian Walid Abu Aisheh who alleged that the two of them, along with three other compatriots, conspired in the attempted bombing of the embassies of the U.S., Israel, United Kingdom, and Australia.

Police and army intelligence sources also reported that the Jordanians were also involved in plots to assassinate high-ranking government officials, including President Arroyo.

“We can’t thank BI enough for their support and cooperation in the counterterrorism investigation that threatened the security of the embassy,” said Wood. “The BI has consistently demonstrated its efficiency and dedication in preventing terrorism in the region.”

Libanan, who received the US Embassy’s plaque of appreciation, said that the BI remains one of the government agencies responsible in protecting us from such threats.

“Although our reforms at the BI have become more accommodating towards foreign investors, we will remain vigilant to make sure that no foreign visitors will pose danger to our national security,” he said. (BI News)

THE Bureau of Immigration recently formed the Zamboanga deportation task force to address the growing number of Filipino deportees coming to the city from Sabah, Malaysia.

The creation of the task force was BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan’s response to Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat’s calls asking for more immigration officers to process the Filipino deportees. Reports said that on average, 500 exiles are brought to Zamboanga City every week, on board the commercial vessel M/V Danica Joy 2. On Wednesday alone, 269 illegal Filipino immigrants arrived in Barangay Talon-talon.

“Our job here is to assess their travel documents to determine their true citizenship, because they have been claiming that they were staying in Malaysia for a long period of time,” explained BI Bay Service Section Chief and concurrent taskforce head Jose Carandang Jr., who arrived to Zamboanga City on Wednesday.

The agency is yet to verify Malaysia’s regulations regarding citizenship. Carandang added that a Filipino Consul based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is the one in charge in signing the travel documents of the deportees before embarking on a Philippine-bound vessel.

“The number of deportees is dependent on how many documents the Filipino Consul in Malaysia processed,” said the BI top official. “We are hoping that the Consul will be able to process more deportees soon.”

Carandang said the task force was also created to make it more convenient to the Filipino deportees.

“They went through tough times while working in Malaysia, so we want to make it easier for them when they arrive here in the Philippines,” Carandang explained. “Soon, we will increase and strengthen the agency’s manpower, and add more laptops in the immigration offices in Zamboanga to fast track the processing of their travel documents.” (BI News)

Before hitting the hard-court or getting into any sports action in the country, foreign athletes must secure a special work permit (SWP) first from the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

This was stated in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed last Tuesday by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan and Games and Amusement Board (GAB) Chairman and former SEA Games medalist Eric Buhain.
According to the MOA: “No foreign professional athlete or player shall participate in any form of professional tournaments and sports competition in the country unless and until he or she obtains the required special work permit from the Bureau and professional license from the GAB.”

Through the MOA, Libanan and Buhain will be working together to ensure that all foreign sportsmen who compete or get an athletic employment in the country have necessary work permits from the BI.

In cases where a foreign athlete claims Philippine citizenship, the MOA also stated that he is required to present a certificate of recognition of Philippine citizenship that was duly affirmed by the Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

It was also indicated in the MOA that the BI will only issue an SWP to a foreign athlete if his application for such permit has been endorsed by the GAB, the agency that regulates and supervises all professional sports and games in the country.

The applicant is also required to submit a photocopy of his or her passport with a valid authorized stay, and secure a clearance certificate from the BI as proof that he or she has no derogatory record with the bureau.

Moreover, the applicant, through his promoter, must submit his application for an SWP within 24 hours from his arrival in the country or the next working day if he arrives on a weekend.Manuel Ferdinand Arbas, BI technical staff chief, said all foreign athletes are covered by the MOA, including those who play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Arbas said the MOA will not affect the existing agreement of the BI with the PBA which similarly requires foreign players in the league to first apply for an SWP with the bureau before shooting hoops in the hard-court. (BI News)

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan led the Bureau of Immigration last Wednesday in launching the Mobile Immigration Counters at the Ninoy International Airport (NAIA).

The mobile counters, which are equipped with laptops connected through WiFi, were established by Libanan to process the immigration papers of senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and travelers carrying infants.
“The immigration areas are usually packed with travelers during busy hours, making it burdensome for senior citizens, PWDs, and travelers carrying infants to wait on long queues,” Libanan said. “We set up these mobile counters specifically for them to make traveling more convenient, and at the same time decongest traffic in the Immigration areas.”

Libanan, together with NAIA BI chief of airport operations Ferdie Sampol and BI NAIA Terminal 1 supervisor Teody Pascual, unveiled the mobile counters, which are located at strategic areas and manned by immigration personnel.

“We had our pilot run [on Tuesday], and we already received positive feedbacks from the elderly and the disabled,” said Libanan. “Progressive countries like Japan and the US already have this kind of system, and this will definitely make our immigration processing at par with them.”

Also launched during the event was the BI-NAIA Public Assistance Center (BINPAC), which is aimed to make the clearing process even easier for arriving travelers.

“The BINPAC is in charge of assisting passengers who are in need of special accommodation,” said Sampol. “Aside from senior citizens and PWDs, this service will also be catering to those with immediate domestic connections, VIPs, and dignitaries.”

Sampol added that this will complement the Mobile Immigration Counters to finally resolve the congestion at the Immigration area during peak hours. (BI News)

More than 300 foreigners were barred from entering the country during the first six months of the year as a result of the heightened vigilance and stricter screening of passengers by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Marcelino Libanan said a total of 308 foreigners were excluded from January to June as the bureau continued to tighten its screening and monitoring of foreigners arriving at the country’s premiere port of entry. He said the BI could not simply lower its guard with the volume of foreigner arrivals at the NAIA reaching more than 3 million during the six-month period, up by seven percent over the 2.8 million who came in the same period last year.

Libanan said most of the foreign visitors who were turned back were caught using spurious travel documents, adding that most of passengers were victims of syndicates using Manila as transit point for their human trafficking operations.

“I have already directed that they be placed in our blacklist so that they will not be able to return to our country in the future,” Libanan said, even as he commended immigration officers at the NAIA for a job well done.

The BI chief stressed that it is now difficult for illegal foreigners to slip through the NAIA unmolested as a result of the continous trainining of immigration officers who are now more adept in detecting fraudulent travel documents.

He said the task of screening and profiling foreigners at the NAIA is not only performed by BI personnel at the counters but also by members of the migration compliance and monitoring group (MCMG), a team which double checks the documents of passengers with suspicious profiles.

Libanan also said that a BI anti-fraud unit is in place at the NAIA whose members are capable and trained in the art of detecting bogus and tampered passports and visas.

Statistics from the NAIA immigration office showed that 120 of the excluded passengers were not properly documented while 97 others were profiled as likely to become public charges.

“A foreigner is deemed a public charge if he could not explain his purpose in coming to the country and if he is unable to show proof of his capacity to support his stay in the Philippines,” said NAIA-BI operations chief Ferdinand Sampol.

Also included in the list are 62 blacklisted aliens who were foiled in their attempt to slip back into the country.

There were also 16 passengers who have no entry visas; 10 had no return tickets; and three who have been previously turned back at the airport.

A breakdown of their nationality showed that 45 South Koreans and 43 Chinese topped the list, followed by 22 Japanese, 22 Americans, 21 Taiwanese, 20 Nigerians, 18 Ghanians, 16 Indians, and 12 Liberians. (BI News)

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan ordered yesterday that there will be no more lunch breaks for officials and employees at the bureau’s main office in Intramuros to further reduce the processing time for the granting of visas and visa extensions.

Libanan said immigration employees will instead take turns between manning the receiving windows and other frontline services and having their lunch to ensure that the bureau’s offices remain open during their noon break from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. The new no-lunch break policy will further speed up the processing time for the processing of visas and visa extensions as well as for other documents issued by the bureau.

Libanan’s reforms at the bureau such as the Visa Issuance Made Simple (VIMS) and the Pre-Arranged Visa Upon Arrival (VUA) programs have expedited the processing of BI documents and cut red tape.

The schemes resulted in shorter and more efficient processing of visas and visa extensions as shown by the feedbacks sent through email by the transacting public and curbed corruption.

The online feedback system through email has recently received commendations from the transacting public who cited the professionalism and efficiency of the bureau’s staff and the reforms that streamlined the processing of documents.

With the new policies in place, the bureau has trimmed down documentary requirements by 43 percent, and reduced the processing time by 82 percent..

It used to be that applications for visa extensions can take 15 to 50 days to finish. Now applications filed in the morning can be approved and released in the afternoon.

The new policy of no lunch breaks is expected to further cut the already shorter processing time at the bureau from less than a day to a mere several hours. (BI News)

Immigration officers at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) barred from entering the country during the first semester 37 foreigners who attempted to slip into the country with bogus travel documents via the former US air base in Clark Field, Pampanga.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said covering from the period of January to June, the 37 aliens were turned back as a result of the increased vigilance of immigration personnel at the DMIA who were alerted over reports that human trafficking syndicates are intending to use Clark as the next transit point for their operations.
The reports had also indicated that illegal recruitment syndicates were trying to use the Clark airport in facilitating the departure of “tourist workers,” or undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) disguised as tourists.

Libanan said he was alarmed by the reports that ordered the immediate deployment of additional personnel to the DMIA and that screening procedures for both arriving and departing passengers be tightened.

Earlier, the BI chief bared that some 864 passengers suspected of being “tourist workers” were barred from leaving Clark from January to May on suspicion of being “tourist workers.”

In his report to Libanan, Romeo Dime, DMIA immigration head supervisor Romeo Dime said most of the excluded foreigners were caught using spurious documents in trying to enter the country.

Dime said most of the passengers arrived from Malaysia and their travel itinerary showed that they intended to proceed to other foreign destinations after a brief stay in the country.

“They were unable to explain their purpose in coming to the Philippines for which reason they were denied entry and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin,” Dime said.

All of them were placed in the BI blacklist of undesirable foreigners and banned from re-entering the Philippines.

Those excluded include seven Indians, six Nigerians, four Bulgarians, three Sri Lankans, three Taiwanese, two Koreans, two Singaporeans, a Sudanese, a Japanese, a Malaysian, a Botswanan, a Liberian, and an Albanian. (BI News)

Immigration officers at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) have barred a total of 864 passengers from leaving the country on suspicion of being “tourist workers” or undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) disguised as tourists, it was learned yesterday.

In his report to Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, Romeo Dime, BI’s regional director at DMAI, disclosed that most of the OFWs were offloaded for not having the required clearances from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) although their purpose in going abroad is to work.

“Most of them presented bogus documents such as fake letters of invitation or affidavits of support from their alleged friends and relatives in the countries where they intended to go and work,” Dime said.

He added that nearly all of the OFWs were bound for Malaysia and are believed to be victims of illegal recruitment syndicates.

Libanan issued an order to immigration officers at the DMIA to be always vigilant and implement the ban on the departure of undocumented OFWs.

Libanan said was alarmed by reports that the former Clark Air Base was being used by illegal recruiters and human traffickers as the major exit point for their victims.

He also cited reports that some of these illegal recruitment victims end up as prostitutes or become victims of abuse in their countries of destination.

“We shall continue to tighten our watch in DMIA to protect our OFWs, especially our women, from harm’s way,” Libanan said.

Last week, a composite team of policemen and BI operatives led by Vice President Noli de Castro intercepted five women before they could board their flight to Kuala Lumpur.

The women later admitted upon questioning that they were were going to work as domestic helpers in Malaysia and that they are not tourists as they initially claimed.

It was gathered that the operation was carried after informants tipped authorities about the scheduled flight of the women who were allegedly hired by illegal recruiters. (BI News)

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) has lauded the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for successfully combating corruption, cutting red tape and improving the quality of its services to the public.

In a speech delivered at the 2nd Quarter Integrity Development Action Plan (IDAP) conference held in Malacañang recently, PACG Chair Constancia De Guzman hailed the BI’s success in instituting programs that helped curb corruption and enhanced the integrity of the bureau.
De Guzman thus congratulated BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan for his accomplishments as it was under his stewardship that the bureau landed in seventh place of the PAGC’s top 10 list of most compliant government agencies.

In 2005, the BI was in 76th place or in the fifth bottom of the said list that comprises 81 government agencies.

De Guzman cited the launching BI’s visa-issuance-made-simple (VIMS), Libanan’s flagship project, which reduced the processing time for visa applications at the bureau by an average of 58 percent.

She noted that as a result of the VIMS, person-to-person transactions at the BI were cut by at least 50 percent thereby cutting red tape by the same percentage.

BI Associate Commissioner Roy Almoro, who chairs the bureaus composite committee on good government (CCGG), described how the VIMS was painstakingly introduced for adoption to the BI employees and stakeholders but it yielded positive results in the long run.

Almoro also reported that the BI will soon implement in its regional and field offices the performance management system – office performance evaluation system (PMS-OPES) of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) where the bureau is currently ranked first in the area of enforcement of a code of conduct for its workers and in evaluating their performance.

The PAGC chief included the BI in her assessment of the reports submitted by heads and officials of 80 government agencies who attended the conference held last July 7 at Malacañang’s Mabini Hall.

Aside from the BI, the Department of Science and Technology, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Finance, and National Housing Authority are also in PAGC’s list of 10 most compliant agencies. (BI News)

In a Value for Money Audit done by the Commission on Audit for the government operations last year, the Bureau of Immigration was cited for the speedy disposition of detainees’ cases resulting in the dramatic decline in the number of detainees at the BI detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City.

In a report to Congress on its audit of operations of all government agencies, the COA cited BI’s success in reducing the number of detainees at the Bicutan detention center as “notable efforts of decongesting the BI Detention Center thru fast and rational resolution of cases.”

“This resulted in the reduction of expenses even as it eased the agony of waiting on the part of detainees,” the COA report added.

“Considering the short period the program was implemented that started in midway of 2007, the bureau accomplished a major task that is worth a commendation,” Reynaldo Villar, COA Chairman, said.

The COA cited the decrease in the number of detained aliens by 76 percent as of December 31, 2007 as proof that the decongestion program of the bureau through disposition of cases was effectively implemented.

The report also said that at the beginning of 2007, a total of 411 detainees were housed inside the facility but 314 cases were acted upon with dispatch.. 97 of these cases were dismissed, 109 foreigners were deported, 44 were placed under recognizance, 61 aliens were allowed to post bail, and 3 were transferred.

“We recommended that the bureau continue its notable efforts of decongesting the BI Detention Center thru fast and rational resolution of pending cases in order to reduce expenses and ease the agony of waiting on the part of the detainees,” COA report added.

Last May 2008, only 96 aliens were in detention at the Bicutan jail. (BI News)

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration has deported a Jordanian national allegedly involved in a plan to bomb the embassies of the US and three other countries in Manila.

In a statement released Thursday, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Moh'd Armo was flown to Bangkok on Monday night where he was transferred to a connecting flight of the Royal Jordanian Airlines bound for Amman.

Continue on GMA News

Related News:

• Terror suspect deported - Sun Star Manila
• Jordanian terrorist idineport ng BI - Philippine Star
• BI deports Jordanian terrorist - BI News
  

27 June 2008

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan unveiled yesterday his development agenda geared towards the nation’s security and creating a pro-investment and tourism climate in the Philippines .

Addressing a luncheon meeting by members of the Consular Corps of the Philippines at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City, Libanan summed up his agenda as a policy direction where “the economy is nurtured, the interest of peace and order secured and the vision for the future is ensured.”

Libanan said that since he assumed the helm of the BI a year ago, it was always his intention to shift the bureau’s role from that with a “hammer and shield” mindset to being a pro-investment catalyst with a global perspective.

The BI chief proudly announced to his audience that he has been successful in instituting postitive reforms in the BI that helped advance his pro-investment and tourism agenda.

Among these programs, he said, was the launching of the visa-issuance-made-simple (VIMS) program where visa processing and issuances in the BI were simplified and fast-tracked for the convenience of the transacting public.

He likewise cited the implementation of the pre-arranged visa-upon-arrival program which not only attracted foreign businessmen and promoted the investment climate but also helped eradicate human smuggling in the country’s ports.

As a result of these twin projects, he said the BI’s income from January to May stood at more than P812 million, up by 31-percent or P191.8-million over the 620.7 million the bureau collected in the same period last year.

Libanan also mentioned the “no touch, no contact” policy now being practiced at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) which drew praises from foreign governments and improved the bureau’s image.

“There are many more pro-investment programs to come and we shall see to it that the interest of tourism, trade, commerce, industry are not left out,” he said.

Libanan explained that improvement in the BI’s facilities and services at the airports as he disclosed that all immigration counters at the NAIA are now equipped with passport readers.

He said a national operations center is now in place that records and keeps track of all activities and events at the NAIA on a 24-hour basis.

He added that the bureau has established an electronic linkup with the Interpol and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen its campaign against foreign criminals and fugitives from justice.

Libanan disclosed that serious efforts have been made to professionalize the bureau’s rank and file and eradicate corruption, adding that a total of 24 in-house trainings on various immigration-related programs.

He said these personnel capability-building programs catapulted the BI to the fourth place among 76 other government agencies in the list of anti-corruption champions of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC).

He also reported that last January, the BI was named valedictorian by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) among the agencies that took part in its performance management system and office performance evaluation system project. (BI News)

Foreigners entering and staying in the country remitted more than P800 million to the government coffers during the first five months of the year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan disclosed that immigration fees earned by BI from January to May totaled P812.5 million, up by 31-percent or P191.8-million over the 620.7 million the bureau collected in the same period last year.

The income was also P164-million or 25-percent higher than the bureau’s revenue target of P648.3 million for the five-month period.

Libanan noted that the BI is just P659.3-million short of attaining its P1.47 billion target for 2008, adding he is confident that this year will be another banner year for the BI in terms of revenue generation.

The BI posted its highest income ever in 2007 when it registered a take of more than P1.69 billion.

“Chances are very bright that we will not only hit but also exceed our target this year if the present trend in our collections continues,” the BI chief said.

Records showed that of the P812.5 million collected during the five-month period, P573.7 million was earned at the BI main office in Manila while P238.8 million was raised by the different BI field offices and immigration subports in the provinces.

Libanan partly attributed the dramatic rise in revenues to the unabated influx of foreigners into the country and the reforms that he instituted at the BI wherein processing of visa applications have been simplified and expedited.

He said alien arrivals have increased and so are fees that they pay to the government, adding that it is a good sign that more and more foreigners are now complying with the country’s immigration laws.

Libanan promised to vigorously pursue the reform program that he started in the bureau, particularly in re-engineering its systems and procedures and improving and modernizing its services to the transacting public.

He also lauded the rank and file of the bureau for their hard work which contributed to bureau’s impressive collection performance.

Statistics from the immigration office of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) revealed that a total of 1,108,366 foreigners arrived at the premiere port from January to May this year, which is seven-percent higher compared to the 1,032,106 who came in the same period last year.

Early this year, Libanan launched the visa-issuance-made-simple (VIMS) scheme, the BI chief’s flagship project that simplified the requirements and cut the processing time for visa applications at the BI by an average of 58 percent. (BI News)

Source: Bureau of Immigration News

Related News:

• Bureau's revenues surge on increased tourism - GMA News
• BI collects more than P800M for first five months - GMA News
• RP immigration bureau's revenues up by 31% - BusinessWorld via GMA News
• Gov't earns P800M from foreigners' stay in RP - Sun Star Manila

Professionalism in the delivery of public service by employees of the Bureau of Immigration earned praises from the Chinese Ambassador to Manila.

Chinese Ambassador to Manila Song Tao today cited employees of the Bureau of Immigration for “high degree of professionalism” in handling the deportation of a Chinese fugitive who was at large for several years, until now. In a letter dated June 18, 2008 to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Song cited “laudable efforts made for the deportation by the Bureau of Immigration” of Cai Wenxian, a Chinese national involved in the “heinous crime of smuggling and wanted by China’s Anti-Smuggling Authority.”

In a statement, BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan described the Chinese Ambassador’s citation as a terstimonial of the efficiency on and dedication of BI employees to their jobs.

“At the BI a new meaning of dedication to service has started to take roots and this recognition by the Amnbassador Song encourages us the more to be change agents in the BI’s definition of public service,” Libanan said.

Libanan was himself cited by Song as the Chinese ambassador said Libanan “has made notable achievements after his assumption of his post” at the BI.

Song said “the successful deportation further demonstrates the Philippine government’s adherence to justice and its consistent policy that the Philippine soil will never be used as the refuge by foreign fugitives to escape prosecution.”

“I earnestly look forward to the continous cooperation of our two countries in the field of combating transnational crimes including immigration regulation. I am highly convinced that we will make much greater success in future with our unremitting efforts on law enforcement issues,” he added.

Sources inside the BI said the bureau has received numerous citations from other countries and individual foreign visitors for the changes that have made BI friendly to its principal clientelle, foreigners visiting the Philippines.

Massive structural and systems reforms were put in place by Libanan when he assumed leadership of BI leading to processes simplification. “It is now a lot easier to deal with the BI these days,” same sources said, adding that fixers were rendered useless and are now history. (BI News)

Source: Bureau Of Immigration News

A British pedophile is now behind bars at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl in Pangasinan.

Arrested on the strength of a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan was David Ferguson Gatt, 68, who was picked up by operatives ob the BI law enforcement division at his home in Calasiao, Pangasinan last May 27.

Libanan said Gatt will remain detained at the Bicutan immigration jail indefinitely pending resolution of the criminal complaint that the father of the victim filed against the Briton for violating the anti-child abuse law.

He said the bureau is giving priority to the campaign against pedophiles, saying “we will always exercise our mandate to protect our women and children against foreign sex offenders.”

Libanan added that “although he (Gatt) is an undesirable alien who should be deported, he should first face the criminal charges filed against him,” said Libanan.

It was gathered that the Briton was already an undocumented and overstaying alien at the time of his arrest.

He failed to present his travel documents to the arresting agents but a check of the BI’s travel records showed that he last arrived in the country on August 15, 2001 and that he never bothered to extend his tourist visa since then.

“He will thus undergo deportation proceedings for being an undocumented, overstaying and undesirable alien,” said Atty. Floro Balato Jr., BI spokesman.

Balato added that Gatt will be placed in the BI blacklist to prevent him from re-entering the Philippines after he is deported.

Investigation revealed that Gatt was the subject of a complaint filed by a male resident of Calasiao, Pangasinan whose 12-year-old daughter the Briton allegedly molested several times.

The complainant said that while he was working in Manila, his wife entrusted the care of the victim to her grandmother, who is the live-in partner of the Briton.

According to the victim’s affidavit, she was sexually abused and molested by Gatt on many occasions and was made to do indecent acts against her will at the time that she stayed at her grandmother’s house. (BI News)