Joel Viado appointed immigration commissioner

Atty. Joel Viado has been appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Immigrations (BI), the Presidential Communications Office has announced.

Viado replaced Commissioner Norman Tansingco as BI chief.

Viado has been with the BI as a deputy commissioner since April 2023. He was named as the officer-in-charge of the BI in September. 

The commissioner has expressed his support for the passage of the new Immigration law, which seeks to replace the Philippine Immigration Act.

He said the law would streamline Immigration procedures, improve the governance of Immigration policies, and strengthen border security.

"The Bureau is fully supportive of the President’s initiative to prioritize a new immigration law, which will enhance our operations and allow us to serve the public more effectively," Viado said in a statement.

Viado also said that digital systems would be a priority. 

Aside from this, he said his office will undertake a comprehensive review of the bureau’s existing policies and procedures to identify inefficiencies and remove redundancies. —NB, GMA Integrated News