Bureau of Immigration income grows to P544 million in first quarter

MANILA, Philippines - Income generated by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) grew by P24 million during the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year.

Officials attributed this to the successful reforms being implemented by the agency.

In a statement, Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the BI managed to earn over P544 million from January to March, which is P24 million higher than the P520 million the agency earned in the same period last year.

“The three-month take is also P62.3 million or 11-percent more than the collection target of P482 million during the first quarter,” Libanan said.

Libanan attributed the steady rise in the BI’s income to the success of the reform programs that were instituted to cut red tape and facilitate the delivery of fast and efficient services to the transacting public.

Libanan expressed confidence that with its impressive collection performance in the first quarter, the BI is on track to maintain, if not surpass, its P2.1-billion income in 2008.

“This is a good indication that even with the prevailing economic crisis, foreigners are still entering the country and that they are complying with our immigration laws and paying their fees to the government,” Libanan said.

According to BI finance chief Elvira Presado, the bureau’s monthly collection in the first quarter was also higher than the monthly take during same period in 2008.

Presado reported that the bureau’s take was highest in January when collections amounted to more than P216 million compared to P207 million in January last year.

The bureau’s collection in February was P169.4 million and in March it was P158.5 million while the take in February and March last year amounted to P155 million and P158 million, respectively. – Helen Flores