House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto (Facebook)

House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto wonders how the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking's (IACAT) new rules on Filipino travelers will affect the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) promised 45-second processing of both incoming and outgoing travelers.

Recto said the BI's pledge was tied to its 2024 budget request of P4.24 billion--a P2.63-billion or 163 percent jump from its current P1.61-billion budget this 2023.

The IACAT's new, more stringent travel rules grabbed headlines recently, with some calling them unreasonable.

“Will this create a logjam that will hassle not just travelers, but Immigration officers as well? If the processing is as lengthy as a job interview o parang cross-examination na mas marami pang tanong kesa namamanhikan (or like a cross-examination from your potential in-laws), will the stricter rules cut speed?” Recto said.

Recto said rising passenger volume plus the lack of airport space to put up more immigration booths slow down passenger processing.

Starting Sept. 3, the required travel documents for tourists now consist of a passport, valid for at leas six months before the date of departure, valid visa, boarding pass, confirmed return or roundtrip ticket, proof of hotel, proof of financial capacity or source of income consistent with the passenger’s declared purpose of travel, and proof of employment and other equivalent evidence.

There are other additional requirements for migrant workers and other Filipinos going abroad on “sponsored travel".

The House of Representatives, through the Committee on Appropriations, is currently scrutinizing the proposed P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024.

Referring to the BI, Recto said: “That’s their promissory note to taxpayers : Increase our budget to P4.25 billion and almost all passengers will be gone in 45 seconds."

He said the agency “better deliver on this pledge because the P2.6 billion increase they are seeking will be for new equipment for, in their own words, ‘the enhancement of border management information system.’”

Recto said “for clarity of objective”, Congress should insist that the processing time be clocked the moment a passenger lines up and not when he or she is in front of the immigration booth.

“Pwede ka naman talagang ma-proseso in 45 seconds ng Immigration officer pero kalahating oras ka naman nakatayo sa pila. Dapat ang nakasulat sa General Appropriations Act (GAA) kung kelan nagsimula pumila,” he said.

(Processing within 45 seconds by the Immigration officer is possible, it's useless if you spend 30 minutes in the queue. The General Appropriations Act should specify that the clock begins when you join the queue.

The NEP is the precursor of the GAA.