BI officials plead: Don’t take our fees

Immigration officials on Thursday pleaded with the House appropriations committee to delete a provision in the proposed 2016 national budget that would transmit the express-lane fees collected from foreigners at the airports to the National Treasury.

They asked that the fees continue to be placed in a trust account that is used by the bureau to pay worker benefits, such as overtime pay, allowances and honoraria for contractual employees.

Speaking at Thursday’s budget hearing, Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the provision that was inserted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would lower morale at the bureau.

Ideally, the BI should have a workforce of at least 4,000 nationwide to carry out its duties but has only 1,437 employees and 461 contractual workers.

If the express-lane fees were dropped, one-fourth of the workforce would be “instantly removed” by Jan. 1 as the bureau would not have the money to pay them, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa in a letter recently.

De Lima, whose department has jurisdiction over the bureau, also sought the deletion of the provision, saying it would lead to a shortage of 2,500 immigration workers.

At the hearing, the BI officials were not asked nor did they volunteer the amount involved.

Several lawmakers expressed support for the BI’s appeal, among them, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Northern Samar Rep. Emil Ong and Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon.

Under the P3-trillion proposed national budget for 2016 submitted by the DBM to Congress, “fees and charges collected by the BI shall be deposited with the National Treasury, as income of the General Fund.”

The DBM cited Section 44, Book VI of the Administrative Code, which states that unless otherwise specifically provided for by law, all income accruing to government agencies shall be deposited in the National Treasury and shall accrue to the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund.

The express-lane fees were created when Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was the immigration commissioner in a bid to reduce graft and corruption at the bureau.

Its use for employee benefits was pursuant to the Immigration Act of 1940, or Commonwealth Act 613.

Rodriguez said this law should prevail over the DBM provision, until a new immigration law is passed.