BI seeks new law to replace 76-year-old immigration act

THE Bureau of Immigration has appealed to lawmakers to pass a new measure to replace the 76-year-old law regulating the immigration of foreigners into the Philippines.

BI commissioner Jaime Morente said the antiquated Philippine Immigration Act is long overdue for a replacement, saying it is no longer attuned to the present times.

In a statement, Morente said he will ask President Duterte to certify as urgent bills for a new immigration law filed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“The present law is no longer attuned to present realities and the changing times. The enactment of a new immigration law is long overdue. We appeal to Congress to make this a priority,” he said.

The Philippine Immigration Act was passed in 1940 during the Commonwealth government when the Philippines was still a colony of the United States.

The existing law governs the organization of the BI and regulates the immigration of foreigners into the country.

Morente said he met with Sen. Franklin Drilon, who authored and filed a Senate bill which seeks to reorganize the BI to make it a more effective enforcer of the country’s immigration laws.

“A new law is needed so the BI can more effectively discharge its function as the chief regulator of the entry and stay of aliens in the country,” he added.

Drilon’s Senate bill also aims to redefine the BI’s functions, and introduce changes to the now obsolete systems and procedures under the present law.

Former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also filed a counterpart immigration bill in the House of Representatives.

His version aims to reorganize the BI and convert it into a commission, giving it expanded jurisdiction as well as streamlined powers and functions to eliminate red tape./ac