The Bureau of Immigration (BI) only managed to P5.9 billion in fees last year because of the pandemic.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the total take from immigration fees was 36 percent lower compared to the record high income of P9.3 billion posted in 2019.
“We anticipated our income to decrease due to the pandemic...resulting in less collection from visa applications,” he said, noting that more foreigners went out of the country compared to those who went in.
Morente added that transactions in the bureau were suspended for more than two months after the government declared a lockdown in March last year, thus causing the agency’s revenue collections to nosedive.
Morente, however, said the bureau expects its revenue collection efforts to gradually return to normal this year as the country awaits the arrival of the coronavirus vaccines.
According to BI finance chief Judith Ferrera, the bureau was poised to post another record high income in 2020 had the pandemic not occurred.
Ferrera said the bureau started 2020 on a very positive note as its collections in January and February amounted to P1.8 billion, but revenues dropped to P480 million in March with the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
The bulk of the collection came from visa processing and extension fees, fines and penalties, clearance and certification taxes.