House bill raising salary of immigration officers OKd on final reading

The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill on final reading modernizing the Bureau of Immigration (BI) by increasing the salary of immigration officers.

This happened after 287 lawmakers voted yes for the passage of House Bill 8203 which provides for the following salary increases:

• Salary Grade 13 (P31,000) monthly for Immigration Officer 1 from Salary Grade 11 (P27,000)
• Salary Grade 15 (P36,000) monthly for Immigration Officer 2 from Salary Grade 13 (P31,000)
• Salary Grade 18 (P46,000) monthly for Immigration Officer 3 from Salary Grade 16  (P39,000)
• Salary Grade 20 (P57,000) monthly for Senior Immigration Officer from Salary Grade 19 (P51,000)

The bill also authorizes  the  agency to  retain  and  use  thirty  30% of  its annual collections from immigration fees, fines and penalties, and other income that it may collect, provided that they do not exceed P1.2 billion.

Likewise, the bill provides for the establishment of an Immigration Trust Fund (ITF) which will be sourced from the 30% retained income and will be administered by the BI Board in accordance with existing government auditing rules and regulations.

The breakdown of ITF usage as provided under the bill is as follows:

• 50% for the modernization of equipment, facilities and offices used by employees of the BI, including capital outlay for the establishment of new buildings and field offices;
• 30% for the payment of employee benefits and as may be hereafter provided by the BI Board with the approval of the Secretary of Justice; and,
• 20% for the further professionalization of the employees of the Bureau through training, seminars and other career advancement programs.

"This bill's importance cannot be overstated, being one of the [agreed bills by the] Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).  It will improve travel experience and at the same time tighten up our border security," Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte said.

"This measure is a long time coming, having been filed and re-filed for around 20 years. A lot has changed and this bill ushers the BI into the digital age," he added.

Opposition and veteran lawmaker Edcel Lagman of Albay, for his part, said the BI Modernization bill is a long time coming, given that the existing law is as old as a dinosaur which has already gone extinct.

“The law on the  BI is of Jurassic vintage. It was enacted during the Commonwealth Period under Commonwealth Act No. 613, otherwise known as the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, or 83 years ago. There is an urgent need to modernize the BI to make it comparable with similar agencies in other countries and place it in step with the advances in communications and technology,” Lagman said in explaining his support for the measure.

“It is also of critical immediacy to professionalize personnel of the Bureau of Immigration and increase their basic salaries to incentivize immigration officers and other employees of the Bureau who perform frontline services in various airports and seaports nationwide even during weekends and holidays,” he added.

Likewise, the veteran lawmaker cited that the Immigration bureau protects the security and safety of the country from undesirable aliens and those with derogatory records, and is one of the primary agencies responsible in the implementation of RA No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

The BI is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Several immigration officers have been at the center of the controversy in the last four years over allegations of accepting grease money in exchange of allowing entry of undocumented individuals.—LDF, GMA Integrated News