The Bureau of Immigration has urged congress to add more “teeth” to the proposed new immigration law “to effectively implement its mandate,” particularly in imposing heavier fines against erring airline companies.
Customs Commissioner Jaime Morente earlier said the passage of the new law was the solution to the corruption in the agency.
“It is necessary to equip the BI with the necessary legal and administrative tools for us to effectively carry out our mandate,” he said.
Section 44 of the Immigration Act of 1940 says vessels or aircraft that bring in improperly documented aliens may be subjected to a fine of P500 for each person brought, and should not be allowed to depart the country until the fine has been settled.
The amount was increased in 1999 to P50,000 by then Customs Commissioner and now Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, and as approved by then Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas.
But its legality was questioned by airline companies, resulting in the nonpayment of the fines.
In 2016, former Justice secretary Emmanuel Caparas issued a circular directing Customs to revert to charging P500 following a petition from an airline questioning the legality of the 1999 Memorandum, saying the added fine had “no legal basis” as the Immigration Act fixed the amount to P500.
“This is exactly the reason why we’re pushing for a new law,” Morente said.
“The Philippine Immigration Act is a very old law, it was enacted in the 1940s, and the rates included there are not applicable anymore.”
Morente also said the solution to the issues plaguing Customs was to update the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. Vito Barcelo
“I have talked to the President and raised this concern to him as well. The Philippine Immigration Act is a very old law, 80 years old to be exact. It was enacted during a time when there were no international flights yet entering and leaving the country,” said Morente.
“Many of its provisions are already outdated and inappropriate already.”
According to Morente, solving the corruption woes in the Bureau can be done in a three-tier approach.
“We have already done the first two,” said Morente.
“The short-term solution is to relieve all those found to have been involved in corrupt practices, hence we relieved all names implicated in the Pastillas issue and implemented a one-strike policy for anyone who tries to follow suit.”