BI to use virtual link between ports

The Bureau of Immigration has vowed to provide faster, better services next year when it implements a program that would link all 25 ports of the country in a bid to modernize the agency’s operations.

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. said the project, part of a standing agreement between the government and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs of Australia, would establish a virtual connection between the country’s six major international airports and 19 seaports.

"This project will not only make our offices more efficient in serving foreigners and the public, but also helps in our efforts to improve border control and management," Fernandez said.

He explained in a statement that the program, dubbed as wide area network (WAN), would be managed and operated by European-based International Organization for Migration that had also put up a similar project for the European Union.

Under the project, WAN stations would be put up in all 25 ports all over the country. They would be linked by a centralized network with a database program.

The bureau will also be creating similar stations connected to the network in 11 other subports nationwide where there are field offices of the agency. However, Fernandez said funds for this extension project would come from the government.

The BI chief said the WAN would be initially installed at the bureau’s main office in Intramuros, Manila; two extension offices in Manila; Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and ports in Davao, Cebu, Subic, Laoag and Zamboanga. — Edu Punay