BI plans to have own identification system

MANILA, Philippines - After receiving flak for placing advertisements on arrival and departure cards in airports, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is planning to have its own identification system.                         

In a statement, BI officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said that he has ordered their Computer Section chief Jollybert Galleon to study the creation of their own ID system for arriving and departing passengers.

“The Bureau needs to come up with a more economical and efficient mode of retrieving and encoding the data in the cards without entering into contracts with private companies that only tend to create controversies and problems for the bureau,” Ledesma said.

Galleon said the passport reading machines in the airports can be reconfigured to scan the arrival and departure cards.

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered the cancellation of the BI’s contract with e.Xtend Inc., the company that produces the cards distributed by the bureau to travelers who enter and leave the country.

The contract was ordered revoked after an advertisement of the clinic owned by celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vicky Belo appeared on the card.

Earlier, e.Xtend Inc. placed the photograph of President Aquino on the card, which was immediately ordered pulled out of circulation when the President expressed displeasure with having his photograph on the cards.

 e.Xtend Inc. director Charles Stephen Ng Sy said they continue to print the cards since they have not received a notice ordering them to stop.

Sy also said that they would clarify the legal issues with Ledesma in writing.

“In the letter we want to raise questions on the legalities. We went through the process so our legal team said we could go (through with the contract). We would not have entered into a contract for a long time and make a big investment if we knew that there was a problem,” Sy said.

The bureau entered into a 15-year contract with e.Xtend in 2009, during the term of Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

Sy said they spend P1.80 to P1.90 for each card. Because they print 1.5 million copies a month, they spend P2.2 million every month.