The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that the number of departures are steadily rising after the holiday season.
The BI shared that they are recording around 30 to 31 thousand departures per day for all international airports. The number is slightly higher than the 21 to 25 thousand departures processed during the first week of December.
Data shared by the BI show that for January to December 2023, they have processed a total of 13,224,308 departing passengers. The peak month for departure was December, which saw 1,201,484 departures.
More than 7 million Filipinos also departed during this period, among which are overseas Filipino workers as well as tourists traveling for leisure abroad.
“A lot of Filipinos have traveled this year as countries reopened their borders after the pandemic,” said Tansingco.
Prior to the pandemic, the BI recorded more than 8 million departing Filipinos.
South Koreans have the highest number of outbound travel for foreign nationals in 2023 with more than 1.55 million departures. This is followed by Americans with 1.19 departures, and Chinese nationals with 406 thousand departures.
BI thanks lawmakers for supporting new immig law
Commissioner Norman Tansingco of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) extended his appreciation to lawmakers for their support in the agency’s proposed new law.
The BI Modernization Act, which has been approved by Congress and is now up for deliberation in the Senate, is meant to update the agency’s 84-year-old law.
“We are thankful because many lawmakers have expressed their support and sees the urgent need to modernize the BI,” said Tansingco.
Last week, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go renewed his pushing for the modernization of the BI. Go advocated improved wages and additional personnel to mitigate problems faced in the bureaucracy.
Apart from updates on visa types and penalties, the new law ensures the income augmentation for the salaries of BI employees. Tansingco said that the move would greatly benefit employees that are stuck with low salaries, and would allow the agency to recruit fresh graduates from good schools to join government service.
The proposed modernization measures will also authorize the BI to utilize its income to acquire advanced tools and technologies. This will enable the BI to operate more efficiently and effectively in fulfilling its vital role in national security. By enhancing its infrastructure and embracing state-of-the-art systems, the Bureau will be more capable of detecting and thwarting illicit activities, such as human trafficking, illegal cross-border operations, and other threats related to the borders.
“The passage of the new law is another step forward towards the President’s vision of Bagong Pilipinas,” said Tansingco.
The BI modernization act is expected to be deliberated on the committee level soon.
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