Bureau of Immigration-Mandaue earning more this year

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration-Mandaue Subport has posted an unprecedented increase in revenue from January to June of this year by P133,636,254.12 as compared to the same period last year.

BI-7 alien control officer Casimiro Madarang III said in a collection report that from January to June 2008, the bureau was able to collect only P98,088,555.10.

Madarang attributed the increase in revenue to the several programs implemented by the bureau like the Visa Issuance Made Simple or VIMS for a fast, efficient and transparent immigration services.

The VIMS innovation cut down 82 percent of waiting time for VISA application and at the same time it eliminates 42 percent of the procedure.

The installation of VIMS at the bureau also eliminates the presence of fixers.

Madarang added that their increased in revenue is also due to the fact that his personnel have now high morale following some changes in their system.

Meanwhile, Koreans topped the number of tourists arriving in Cebu from January to July this year.

Koreans were followed by Filipinos from abroad, Japanese, Chinese and Americans.

In the same period, BI-7 listed a total of 8,156 of alien registrations wherein the Chinese had the most number followed by the USA, South Korea, India, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Iran and Norway. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP (THE FREEMAN)