Gov't to use new immigration cards to improve access of travelers

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government is set to implement new immigration cards from next month to simplify services and improve access of the traveling public, a senior government official said today.

Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will be issuing the new arrival and departure cards to document passengers for border management and compilation of tourism statistics.

"Consistent with Presidential instructions, these cards are funded by government, distributed by authorized personnel and free of advertisements," she said.

The airlines used to print the cards and sometimes even issued photocopies when original forms ran out. Advertisers used to pay to be featured in these cards which are circulated globally.

Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the design and data fields of the cards are aligned with the existing computer systems, the upgraded BI Information System (BIIS).

The BIIS is a major component of the flagship National Justice Information System (NJIS) to link and share information among justice sector institutions.

"The use of the new Arrival and Departure Cards will begin in March 2014 and the old cards will be phased out," Mison said.