MANILA, Philippines—Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente vowed to improve the BI’s online appointment system amidst concerns raised by the transacting public.
It can be recalled that the BI implemented the online appointment system in June this year, to ensure that social distancing protocols are observed following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The management recognizes concerns about limited availability of schedules in the system, but we deem this system as a necessity to lessen the risks of the public when transacting in our offices,” said Morente.
As a long-term plan, Commissioner Morente stated that he has directed related offices to implement a system for the separate appointment of accredited entities who submit bulk processing of applications. Bulk processing would lessen person-to-person contact, which would lower the risk of acquiring the virus.
“I have also instructed that a regular assessment of the system be conducted to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness,” said Morente. “These are new systems and procedures, and we’re still in the early phases of its implementation. System assessments would allow us to fine tune this to better cater to the public,” he stated.
Apart from this, the BI also targets to implement online transactions in the future. “We’re looking into implementing online transactions, and we’re still in the process of studying which processes can be fully automated,” said Morente.
Morente likewise stressed that their different field and district offices nationwide are open to cater to various immigration transactions.

Source: http://www.immigration.gov.ph/