photo by The Bureau of Immigration (BI)
The Marcos administration is revolutionizing the country’s immigration services and policies by launching the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) e-services platform. This platform aims to curb the rise in transnational crimes and the entry of illegal aliens as well as improve the experience for tourists and migrants.
President Marcos’ “Bagong Pilipinas” lives through its name by addressing the root cause of transnational crimes—human trafficking, sex trafficking, terrorism, and illicit drug trade—through the bureau’s e-services platform. This platform has simplified immigration procedures for foreign nationals and allowed immigration officers a better and more efficient processing and verification of documents.
During the platform’s launch in July 2023, Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Jose Cadiz Jr. underscored the importance of delivering better services to the people. He also thanked BI personnel and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for their efforts.
“No more will we witness the deplorable scenario where the lines of availing our services extend way outside the building under the blistering heat,” he said.
The online platform allows for the processing and payment of tourist visa extension, visa waiver, waiver of exclusion grounds for unaccompanied minors, emigration clearance certificate (ECC), and dual citizenship.
Modernization is the way to go
Modernization is at the heart of the President’s “Bagong Pilipinas” campaign, and a marching order was given during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2023.
“Consistent with this transformative policy direction, all government offices must then ensure that their vital services are digitalized immediately,” he said.
“Digitalization is the call of today, not the call of the future, but of the present. It is here. It is needed, and it is needed today. Government must fully embrace digitalization to provide better service to the people, through its vital frontline services and its back-end functions,” the Chief Executive added, stressing that modernizing government services will also root out the sources of graft and corruption.
Improving tourism
It was clear upon his assumption to the presidency that President Marcos wants history to remember him as someone who transformed what the government can do for Filipinos.
The e-services platform allows travelers to the Philippines to comply with their immigration requirements from anywhere in the world. They can apply and pay for various immigration services without needing to go to a BI office or line up at the airport counters.
It also complements the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) thrust of bringing in more tourists to the country as President Marcos aimed to bring the Philippines closer to the global tourism market.
The platform’s Cruise Visa Waiver, Visa Waiver, and Tourist Visa Extension e-services ensure that tourists would have an easier time processing documents for their visit and stay in the country.
In particular, the Cruise Visa Waiver was created to boost the Philippines’ position as a top cruise destination, allowing visa-required foreign nationals to enter the Philippines for a limited duration, strictly for cruise tourism purposes.
Former BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco assured that the Cruise Visa Waiver will revitalize the country’s post-pandemic tourism industry.
“The Cruise Visa Waiver supports our goal of making the Philippines the cruise hub of Asia. It demonstrates our commitment to providing secure and hassle-free entry for tourists, which is crucial for boosting our tourism sector,” he said during the program’s launch in July 2024.
In 2023, the Philippines had 123 port calls, welcoming over 101,000 passengers. The new Cruise Visa Waiver program was expected to increase these to 118,000 passengers in 2024, which would be a significant boost to the country’s tourism industry.
Fighting crimes
The President also talked about the dangers of transnational crimes during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit with Japan in October 2024.
“The common problems in our region are increasingly transnational in nature. Unilateral actions in the East and in the South China Sea continue to undermine peace and stability in the region,” he said.
“We, therefore, must remain steadfast in our responsibility, building on mutual trust, in upholding maritime security and cooperation, territorial integrity, disarmament, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons,” he added.
While he enjoined the ASEAN community to fight transnational crimes, efforts are being done domestically not only to protect the country’s ports and borders, but also to weed out foreign fugitives illegally staying in the Philippines.
The BI reported that in 2024, its operatives arrested 180 foreign fugitives who were wanted for crimes in their homelands. This was higher than the 128 fugitives arrested in 2023.
The BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) reported that 74 were Koreans, 62 Chinese, 12 Taiwanese, 11 Japanese, seven Americans, two Italians, and two Australians.
British, Canadian, German, Indian, Indonesian, Jordanian, Kyrgystani, Liberian, Nigerian, and Serbian nationals were also arrested.
They were wanted for investment scams, illegal gambling, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, robbery, and narcotics trading.
Some of the notable arrests were of six Japanese members of the notorious “Luffy” gang who were wanted for scams, extortion, and fraud activities. There were also Australian and Serbian nationals who were wanted for illegal drugs.
An Indian-Nepalese national was also caught due to charges of murder, extortion, and robbery.
POGO workers’ deportation
In his third SONA in July 2024, President Marcos, announced the total ban of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs), alluding to it the proliferation of scams, human trafficking, torture, and other crimes
“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop. Kailangan nang itigil ang panggugulo nito sa ating lipunan at paglapastangan sa ating bansa (The disorder they create in our society and its desecration should be stopped). Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” he said.
The total ban did not only mean the closure of the facilities, it also meant putting the DOJ and BI hard at work. After all, the President firmly set the deadline on December 31.
By January 2025, the immigration bureau reported that of the 33,863 POGO workers registered under the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), 22,609 have downgraded their visas and voluntarily left the country before the deadline.
Some 11,254 of them are still left in the country and are due to be deported by the BI in the coming days.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado explained that companies who employed the POGO workers are also obliged to surrender them. Failing to do so may lead to charges of harboring illegal aliens.
“I have ordered our intelligence division to initiate the search for those at large,” the commissioner said.
“They are now considered illegal aliens. Expect an intensified manhunt against these illegal aliens. The order of the President is clear. No more POGO in the Philippines. Foreign nationals who continue to disobey will be arrested, deported, and blacklisted. No exceptions,” he warned.
DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla himself also issued a stern warning against illegal POGO workers who continue to stay in the country.
“The President is unequivocally clear that POGOs have no place here in the Philippines and we vow to give our all-out support for the sake and welfare of the Filipino people . . . This administration stands firm in its resolve to intensify its guerilla operations against non-compliant POGOs,” he added.
Dawning of a new era
As the primary enforcement arm of the DOJ, the immigration bureau is at the forefront of a massive campaign to neutralize and end cross-border crimes and become the face of this administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas.”
President Marcos’ vision is of a Philippines where justice, equality, and accountability are a given rather than a far-reaching concept. It is with these in mind that he posed a challenge to all government agencies: join the administration in this new era of public service, put the welfare and protection of all Filipinos as the agenda, and provide the kind of service befitting the hardworking Filipinos. #
