The House Committee on Justice approved modernizing the immigration law to meet the current immigration needs.
A consolidation of six bills seeking to modernize the Bureau of Immigration by amending the antiquated Commonwealth Act No. 613 which created it, has been approved by the House Committee on Justice.
Rep. Juliet Ferrer, the chairman of the committee, decided to consolidate six related bills, BusinessMirror reported.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District) himself a former BI Commissioner said the new immigration measure aims to make the BI more responsive to migration and immigration difficulties and advances, which involves streamlining and modernizing the bureau and expanding its powers and functions.
This has been brought up as there have been recent events where Rodriguez said that
“many aliens in the country have been involved in organized crimes, including kidnapping, smuggling, human trafficking, labor recruitment, illegal gambling, and terrorism.”
The proposed modernization of BI has been pushed for passage by former President Duterte. It has been approved by the 18th Congress but the Senate failed to pursue its enactment.
Proposal’s Details
The proposal specifies BI's powers and functions and establishes a board of commissioners comprised of a chairperson and two deputy commissioners.
The board would then be in charge of making legal decisions on cases or petitions involving deportation, revocation of immigration status, reacquisition and retention of Philippine citizenship, issuance and revocation of visas and permits, and legalization of residency.
The board could cite and punish persons appearing before it for contempt concerning the discharge of its quasi-judicial functions. It could charge reasonable fees for transactions made by the public with the BI.
The proposed law would allow the bureau to keep 30 percent of its collections but not to exceed P1.2 billion per year.
It would create an Immigration Trust Fund, to be used for purchasing contemporary equipment, pay employee benefits, and professionalize workers through training, seminars, and career promotion initiatives.
The proposed law also raises the pay of BI officers and personnel from Salary Grade (SG) 11 to 13, from SG 13 to SG 15 for Immigration Officer 2, from SG 16 to 18 for Immigration Officer 3, and from SG 19 to SG 20 for Senior Immigration Officer.
Tags: #Immigration, #Modern, #Update, #BI