Noy irked over photo on BI card

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino was reportedly irritated when he saw his photograph on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) card as he was about to board his flight to New York last Monday and immediately ordered that his photograph be removed.

Mr. Aquino has banned the placement of names or photographs of government officials on government projects.                                                                                     

Mr. Aquino was supposedly informed beforehand that his photograph had been placed on the departure/arrival cards issued to all passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). 

However, his order could not be immediately carried out because there are no replacements for the 30,000 cards needed daily.

For the past 10 years, the Airline Operators Council (AOC) had been printing and distributing the cards to all Philippine outbound and inbound passengers at no cost to the government.

The cards have to be filled up by every passenger, regardless of nationality or age.