STOP COLLECTING EXIT FEES FROM PINOYS, NAIA-BI MEN TOLD

http://immigration.gov.ph//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=504&Itemid=78

Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have been ordered to stop collecting exit clearance fees from departing Filipino passengers who are holders of foreign passports.

The directive was given by Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan in a memorandum order that he issued last April 17 to immigration officials at the NAIA and other international airports and subports nationwide.

Libanan said he issued the order following complaints from Filipino travelers who were required to pay the said exit fees after presenting their foreign passports to immigration departure counters at the NAIA.

The said travelers are either former natural-born Filipinos who reacquired their Philippine citizenship under the dual citizenship act or foreigners who were recognized as Filipinos under the 1987 and 1935 Constitutions.

"It is not right to collect exit fees from these passengers who, even if they are holders of foreign passports, are actually Filipino entitled to all the rights and privileges of a Philippine citizen," Libanan said in explaining his directive.

The exit fee amounts to more than P1,200 for a passenger and is normally collected from departing foreign tourists and holders of immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

In his order, Libanan directed the immigration officers "not to collect exit fees from departing passengers who are holders BI-issued identification certificates even if they are using foreign passports.

An identification certificate is issued by the BI to a foreigner who was granted dual citizenship under Republic Act 9225 or whose petition for recognition as a Philippine citizen was approved by the BI and affirmed by the Department of Justice.

Under RA 9225, former natural-born Filipinos who became naturalized citizens of other countries are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship.

On the other hand, an order of recognition as a Philippine citizen is issued to a foreigner whose father or mother is a Filipino at the time of his or her birth. (BI News)

Naglipanang Bumbay sa bansa iimbestigahan ni Miriam

KAKALKALIN na rin ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Kongreso ang paglipana ng mga turistang Bumbay sa bansa.

Ayon kay Senador Miriam Defensor Santiago, nais niyang paimbestigahan sa kinauukulang komite sa Senado ang ang ilegal na pagdagsa ng mga turistang Bumbay sa bansa na patuloy na dumarami ang bilang.

Nakasaad sa Senate Resolution 431 ni Santiago na iniulat ng Bureau of Immigration (BoI) na nasa 5,000 Indian tourist ang “unaccounted” na nakapasok sa bansa sa pagitan ng 2005 hanggang 2007.

May discrepancy umano sa bilang ng visas na ipina-labas ng Department of Foreign Affairs sa nasabing panahon at sa aktuwal na Indian tourist na pumasok sa bansa.

“There is a discrepancy between the number of visas issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) during the period and the number of Indian tourists who actually entered the country,” ani Santiago sa kanyang resolusyon.

Sinabi ni BoI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, nasa 39,495 ang ipinalabas na tourist visas ng DFA sa mga Indian nationals sa pagitan ng 2005 hanggang 2007, pero base sa records, may 44,295 Indian tourists ang nakapasok sa Pilipinas.

Hindi malaman kung saan nanggaling ang visas ng nasa 4,800 Indians na nakapasok din sa bansa.

Aabot umano sa Pl2 million buwis para sa 2,500 per tourist visa ang nawala sa gobyerno dahil sa mga ilegal na turistang Bumbay.

Ayon kay Santiago, maliwanag na dapat pang pag-igtingin ng immigration ang kanilang rules and regulations upang maayos na ma-monitor ang mga du-magdang turista sa Pilipinas. By: Marlon Purificacion - Journal online