APRIL 15, 2015

NR # 3802B

Justice Committee endorses passage of bill

reforming the immigration system
The House Committee on Justice has endorsed passage of a proposed law that
would institute reforms in the Bureau of Immigration and converting the bureau into a
Commission.
The still unnumbered House Bill which was approved by the Justice panel on
March 9, 2015, and as April 13, has yet to be transmitted for consideration by the
Committee on Appropriations relative to its funding provisions before actual plenary
debate. It is a substitute measure to seven separate but similar bills.
Justice committee chairman, Hon. Niel C. Tupas, Jr., stressed that the bill seeks to
reorganize and strengthen the Bureau of Immigration by converting it into a Commission,
defining its powers and functions, and streamlining its bureaucracy.
The substitute bill is a consolidation of HB Nos. 1134, 163, 952, 1033, 1584, 3007
and 4092 authored, respectively, by: House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.; Hon.
Leopoldo N. Bataoil; Hon Gary C. Alejano and Hon. Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo; Hon.
Roman T. Romulo; Hon. Evelina G. Escudero; Hon. Rufus B. Rodriguez and Hon.
Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.; and Hon. Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo.
Aside from the structural and institutional reforms provided under the proposed
Philippine Immigration and Registration of Foreign Nationals Act, the bill seeks to
convert the Bureau of Immigration into a Commission on Immigration, which shall be
under the general supervision of the Department of Justice.
Speaker Belmonte (author of HB 1134) noted that for 72 years, despite the
countless developments in international migration brought about by global political, social
and economic changes, our 1940 immigration law has remained virtually untouched.
Among the numerous vital concerns, Speaker Belmonte underscored that as an
investment site, the Philippines needs a more responsive immigration law that will
establish an environment that would attract foreign investors.
If this bill is passed into law, it is expected that the immigration bureau
(Commission) would become one of the most important government agencies in view of
its vital role not only as gatekeeper but also as agent of economic development,
Belmonte argued.
The authors recalled that a similar bill was given the green light in the Bicameral
Conference Committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 14 th

Congress but by force of circumstance, its final ratification was overtaken by sine die
adjournment.
Speaker Belmonte and other prominent House members refiled the measure during
the 15 Congress but, again, supervening events like the impeachment of then Ombudsman
Merceditas Gutierrez and Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona took its toll on the
measure.
On the other hand, Reps. Alejano and Acedillo (joint authors of HB 952) noted that
the Bureau of Immigration came into existence upon the passage of Commonwealth Act
No. 613, or the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
Though amendments were introduced to this Act, there is a pressing need to
modernize the bureau to make it more responsive to the challenges brought about by the
advancement in science and technology, and attuned to the current needs especially with
the onset of globalization, transnational crimes, and human trafficking, the Magdalo
lawmakers stressed.
The Justice Committee report enumerated the following objectives of the proposed
law: 1) to enhance capital investments, trade and commerce, cultural exchanges and other
forms of friendly relations and cooperation; 2) to address the need for increased
technological and scientific development; 3) to promote conditions for social welfare and
economic security of the Filipino people; 4) to comply with obligations and standards set
by international law in the admission or exclusion of foreign nationals; 5) to promote
international order and justice by denying the use of Philippine territory to persons who
are engaged or likely to engage in terrorism, human smuggling and trafficking, criminal
and other nefarious activities; 6) to modernize structures and mechanism necessary for the
administration of immigration laws in keeping with the changing demands of the countrys
role in the global community; and 7) to professional the immigration service by instituting
a rigid system of screening and selection of immigration officials and employees and
promoting their development.
Among other provisions on reorganization, the Commission shall be administered
by a Board of Commissioners headed by the Commissioner as Chairperson, and four (4)
Deputy Commissioners as members, who will have the same rank, salary and privileges of
an Assistant Secretary of a Department. (30) dpt