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Politics

BI EXCESS INCOME TO FUND REFUNDS OF AIR PASSENGERS

Senator Chiz Escudero has assured employees of the Bureau of Immigration that their salaries and benefits will remain intact and untouched even with the inclusion of a provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) that allows the reimbursement of thousands of passengers who missed their flights due to long immigration assessment. Addressing the issue […]

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Politics

BI LAUDED FOR USE OF BODY CAMERAS BY INSPECTORS

The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI’s) decision to embrace the use of body-worn video cameras for its secondary inspectors has been welcomed by House of Representatives Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Representative Nonoy Libanan. “The donning of body cameras will provide an accurate recording of events whenever an international traveler comes into contact with an immigration […]

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Politics

BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION MODERNIZATION GETS HOUSE OK

The House of Representatives has approved on second reading the proposed new legislation that would enable the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to embark on an aggressive plan to modernize its systems and professionalize its staff. The House approved without any objections House Bill No. 8203, or the proposed BI Modernization Act, which was among the priority […]

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Politics

P1.2B BI MODERNIZATION FUND GETS HOUSE PANEL OK

The consolidated bill just recently approved by the House committee on justice on the makeover of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) aims to put up a P1.2-billion Immigration Trust Fund (ITF) to modernize this agency, touch up its pay scales and further professionalize its officers plus rank and file, according to Camarines Sur Rep. LRay […]

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Politics

LIBANAN: BI EARNINGS CAN FUND EXTRA 4PS ‘AYUDA’

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) can help generate new government earnings needed to bankroll additional cash aid or “ayuda” for poor households reeling from the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan. “There’s no question that the BI can easily raise between P10 billion to P12 billion in annual revenues, possibly more,” […]

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Politics

BI URGED: SUSTAIN ‘ONE-STRIKE’ VS TRAFFICKING

Senator Joel Villanueva urged the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to sustain its “one-strike” policy against immigration officers and personnel involved in the trafficking of Filipinos, especially women, to foreign countries. “It is important that this policy be sustained,” Villanueva told BI Commissioner Jaime Morente during the joint committee hearing of the Senate committees on labor […]

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Politics

VILLANUEVA WELCOMES CHARGES AGAINST BI PERSONNEL LINKED TO ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKERS

Senator Joel Villanueva welcomed the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel who allegedly facilitated the entry of illegal foreign workers who were eventually employed by Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) firms. Villanueva lamented that the surge of illegal foreign workers in the country had been enabled by no less […]

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Politics

SUSPEND POGO FIRMS – VILLANUEVA

The allegations of a new racket involving payouts to immigration officers at the NAIA by travel agencies representing foreign workers only show that “happy days are back for the corrupt,” according to Senator Joel Villanueva. Villanueva reiterated the pressing need for suspending Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) given the latest incident involving the Bureau of […]

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Politics

ACCOUNT FOR FOREIGN WORKERS EMPLOYED IN PHL OFFSHORE GAMING OPS – VILLANUEVA

Senator Joel Villanueva expressed support to a proposal to monitor and record the number of foreign workers employed in Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) in the hopes of generating tax payments and closing the gaps on the rise of illegal foreign workers in the country. The seasoned legislator said he was alarmed by estimates of […]

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Politics

9 OF 10 ARRESTED ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKERS ARE CHINESE NATIONALS – VILLANUEVA

Senator Joel Villanueva is planning to resume the committee hearing on the influx of illegal foreign workers in the country after receiving information from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that 95 percent of its arrests last year involved Chinese nationals. Of the 167 foreign nationals either arrested or charged in court for various offenses […]