(MANILA BULLETIN)

Senator Christopher ‘’Bong’ Go has renewed his push for the modernization of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) amid recurring departure protocol complaints and corrupt practices.

Go asked congressional support the passage of  Senate Bill (SB) No.1185, or the proposed "Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act", which aims to improve the immigration services of the country by upgrading the BI's systems, facilities, and personnel.

"We need to modernize our BI to address the long-standing issues of corruption, inefficiency, and offloading that have plagued the agency," said Go.

"We must provide a more efficient and effective service to the public, especially to our OFWs"We must provide a more efficient and effective service to the public, especially to our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) and foreign tourists who contribute significantly to the country's economy," he added.

Go had previously strongly condemned an incident where a BI officer was alleged to have extorted money from OFW JC Manganti who was prevented from boarding a flight to France despite having complete documents on Aug. 7 last year.

Manganti reported the incident to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco and presented text messages from the BI officer asking for P150,000 in exchange for an escort service.

”While we recognize the hard work and dedication of many of our government employees, we cannot tolerate those who abuse their power and betray the trust of our kababayans (countrymen),” Go said.

"Swift action must be taken to hold the erring officer accountable and to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future,’’ he added.

Go said that his proposed measure could help address the long-standing issues faced by the BI as it aims to streamline the agency's processes, reduce bureaucratic red tape, and provide a more efficient and effective service to the public.

Under the bill, existing positions of the officials and employees of the BI will be upgraded to meet the country's rapidly increasing immigration services. The creation of new positions under the bill, will also boost the productivity and efficiency of the bureau.

An upgrade of their salary grades is also indicated in the bill to provide proper compensation commensurate to their profession, considering the changing times.

If enacted into law, the bill will also authorize the BI Board of Commissioners to retain and use every year 30 percent of its collections from immigration fees, fines and penalties, and other income that may be collected by the bureau to implement the measure and support its modernization efforts.

An Immigration Trust Fund may also be created and sourced from the collections.

Go is also a staunch supporter of the welfare of OFWs. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers through Republic Act (RA) No. 11641, which he co-authored and co-sponsored.