Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPREPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Fourteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2154

Introduced by HON. MARC DOUGLAS IV C, CAGAS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bureau of Immigration’s imprimatur having stemmed from the ageing
Commonwealth Act No. 613 which was enacted in the 1940's yet, is no doubt not
ready to combat the booming complexities confronting our government. Having
tasked “To control and regulate the immigration of aliens in the country, and the
administration and enforcement of alien admission and registration laws", it could
not be gainsaid that immigration officers, being barely in a thousand, are able to
fulfill such a daunting mission. The Bureau must be attuned to the changing of
the times.

The greatly outnumbered more or less one thousand two hundred (1,200)
total number of immigration personnel of the Bureau manning the major ingress
and egress points in the country spread across key cities is of no match to the
almost three million tourists frequenting our country every year. It is therefore a
rather unfeasible task for the Bureau to properly enforce immigration laws and
regulate the immigration requirements of these aliens.

For the Philippines to effectively and efficiently cope with the increasing
requirements of upholding its territorial integrity, vis-2-vis, our Government's
commitment of escalating national integrity as a sacred trust, through humane,
responsive and conscientious control and regulation of foreign migrants; and to
further enhance the country’s capability and competence to compete with our
Asian neighbors, it is more than highly imperative to strengthen our Immigration
Bureau, by increasing the number of their personnel.

Hence, immediate approval of the attached measure is strongly urged

MARC DOUGLAS 'IV C. CAGAS


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPREPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Fifteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__ 2.154

Introduced by HON. MARC DOUGLAS IV C. CAGAS.

“AN ACT
INCREASING THE NUMBER OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS OF THE
BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as “An Act increasing
the number of Immigration Officers of the Bureau of Immigration and
appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy.- It is the declared policy of the
State to protect its territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-
determination in its interrelation with the International Community through
humane, responsive and conscientious control and regulation of foreign migrants
germane to the generally accepted principles of International Law.

SECTION 3. Expansion - There shall be an increase if such number of
Immigration Officers, who will be properly distributed to all undermanned
Immigration Offices throughout the country especially to far flung ports, airports
and ports of entry, to supplement the scarcity of manpower and complement
other immigration personnel.


These personnel augmentation program, should cover and operate for a period
of ten years from the time this Act should have been enacted, or soon thereafter
as the need of the Bureau to efficiently carry-out its duty shall have been
neutralized; or that the portals in the ingress and egress points in all major
airports, seaports and ports of entry, shall have been already properly and
efficiently manned. Provided, that in no case should the increase in the number
of complementary offices for the position of Immigration Officers be less than five
hundred (500) for the entire phase of the program.

SECTION 4. Powers and Duties. - The Immigration Officers
established and created by this Act, should have the same functions, duties and
responsibilities as those Immigration Officers who had already been with the
Bureau at the time of the adoption of this Act.

SECTION 5. Standards, Qualifications and Compensation. - These
additional Immigration Officers shall be subjected to the same qualification for
appointment, rank, salaries, allowances, benefits, compensation and privileges
as those Immigration Officers who are already employed as such at the time of
the adoption of this Act.

SECTION 6. Funding - Except as otherwise provided, the funds
required for the implementation of this Act, shall be taken from all income, fees
and revenues earned and collected by the Bureau; in a manner, rate and
percentage to be determined by the Board. But in no case should that particular
withheld allocation, be of such character and amount as would substantially
diminish its current revenue collection status.

The amounts collected pursuant to this section shall constitute a general
trust fund in the name of the Bureau to be managed and used by the Bureau to
carry out the provisions of this Act. For this purpose, all receipts, derived from
registration, licensing fees, assessments, fines, penalties and other charges to


which the Bureau is authorized by law to collect, are hereby constituted part of
the general trust fund, for the implementation of this Act. Provided, that no
amount shall be disbursed to cover personal services, expenses and purchase of

motor vehicles.

The fund may be augmented by grants, donations, endowments from
various sources, domestic or foreign, for purposes related to their function.

SECTION 7. Work Program- The Department of Justice, the Bureau
of Immigration, the Department of Budget and Management and the Department
of Finance shall prepare the necessary work programs to cover the staggered
implementation of this Act for a period not exceeding ten (10) years.

SECTION 8. Appropriations.- The initial amount needed to implement
office streamlining, physical expansion, creation of offices shall be taken from the
funds and budgets of the Bureau of Immigration under the current General
Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its staggered
implementation shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. - Pertinent provisions of Commonwealth
Act No, 613, Executive Order No. 292, the Revised Administrative Code of 1987,
as amended, Republic Act No. 118, Republic Act No 135, Republic Act No 144,
Republic Act No 503, Republic Act No 749, Republic Act No 827, Republic Act
No 1901, Republic Act No 4376, Republic Act No 5171, Republic Act No 5701,
Presidential Decree No. 524 and other laws, administrative orders, executive
issuances or parts thereof that are contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause- __If, for any reason, any provision
or part of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, such other parts not
affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.


SECTION 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen
(15) days from its publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

APPROVED