The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has posted a new record in its revenue from immigration fees, collecting over P500 million in the first quarter of this year.
Acting Immigration Commissioner Roy Almoro said the bureau collected some P510 million from January to March – the highest first-quarter revenue posted by the agency in its 67-year history.
Almoro bared that the collection figure of the BI in the first quarter is P73.4 million or 17 percent higher than the target of P436.6 million for the period.
It was also P61.6-million or 14 percent higher compared to the P448.3 million the bureau earned in the first quarter of 2007, he added.
Immigration records show that P353.6 million of the first-quarter income was collected at the BI main office in Manila while the remaining P156.4 million was earned by the different immigration field offices in the provinces.
“We are well on our way to hitting another all-time high income in 2008,” said Almoro.
BI officials attributed the increase in the agency’s income to reforms initiated by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan after he assumed office almost a year ago.
Among these reforms was the visa-issuance-made-simple (VIMS) project, which was credited not only for cutting red tape in the processing of visa applications but also for ensuring that all fees due from foreigners who avail themselves of the agency’s services are fully remitted fully to the government.
“This is so because the VIMS was designed to detect fraudulent immigration documents and visa extensions, hence no foreigner can file his visa application without updating his stay and paying the necessary extension fees,” said lawyer Floro Balato Jr., BI spokesman.
Balato also cited the success of Libanan’s program to attract more foreign visitors by easing immigration rules on tourist visa extension.
He also noted the heavy turnout of foreigners who made their annual report during the first two months of the year.
“Foreigners entering our country are now complying with the country’s immigration laws,” Balato said.