DBM OKs new BI ports unit

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it has approved the creation of a new division under the Bureau of Immigration (BI) which will monitor and regulate the arrivals and departures of domestic and foreign travelers in ports nationwide.

In a statement, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the agency has authorized the creation of the Port Operations Division (POD) of the BI, which would be in charge of the supervision and manning of the 420 immigration counters at various international ports and sub-ports in the country.

Previously operating only as an ad hoc unit under the BI’s Immigration Division, the POD will have an additional plantilla of 887 new positions on top of the existing 1,203 immigration officers and assistants already employed.

“The creation of 887 new positions is a big step toward the goal of providing a sufficient personnel complement to support the BI’s operations in the ports,” the DBM said.

Diokno expressed hope the creation of the new positions would improve the efficiency of the BI and therefore, the delivery of its services to the public.

According to the DBM, the creation of new positions would increase the number of immigration officer and assistant positions in the BI by 74 percent, which would require an estimated personnel services cost of P365 million. This will be charged against the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund under the 2017 General Appropriations Act.

The DBM said it may later create additional positions under the POD after it assesses the impact of the creation of the 887 new positions to the BI’s operations.

Earlier, the BI said it needed more employees to oversee ports and sub-ports nationwide. However, due to fiscal constraints, the bureau would be able create only 1,000 additional positions in 2017.

With this, Budget Secretary Diokno assured the BI the DBM would assist in organizing its units and complementing the number of its personnel to address its operational requirements.