The influential Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) backs the proposed reforms of the country's Immigration Act at the same time presents its recommendations to the leaders of the House of Representatives. The businessmen also proposed to amend two provisions that relate to fixing the overtime rates of the immigration employees in the immigration measure.

"The JFC supports the government's efforts to modernize immigration services through the proposed Philippine Immigration Act and other ongoing reforms," it says, adding that these will help make the Philippine tour­ ism, long­stay and retirement industries more competitive with the rest of its Asean neighbors.

The JFC has sent letters to Senate Justice Committee Chairperson Neil Tupas, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Reps. Leopoldo Bataoil, Gary Lejano, Roman Romulo, Evelina Escudero, and Rufus Rodriguez who filed House Bills on the proposed Immigration Act of 2014. The bill is aimed at making the immigration "more enabling for enhancing mobility and promoting protection of the people." The JFC also urged the Lower House to delete Section 30 that authorizes the Commissioner of the Bureau of the Immigration (BI) to assign immigration employees "to do overtime work or services to be prescribed at rates fixed by the Commissioner of Immigration when the service rendered is to be paid for by the airline, shipping companies or other persons served."

Instead it favors to include a provision in the bill to authorize the BI to allocate a percent share from its income generated to pay for 24/7 operations and to include any overtime payments in its annual budget.

The foreign group insists that international traffic would continue to grow citing the implementation of the liberal access policy at secondary gateways.

"Part of the modernization of immigration services is the ability of government to match the 24/7 operations of international airlines, our major partner in tourism development.

The practice of charging overtime fees, meals, and transportation allowances to the international airlines that dates back to Commonwealth Act of 613 (Sec. 7­A) should now be removed and replaced with one where services provided by Bureau of Immigration personnel as employees of the government are duly compensated by the State," the JFC says.

The joint chambers justified that any shortage of personnel relative to the growth of passenger traffic should be addressed with an increase in the workforce at the expense of the national government.

The JFC is comprised of the American Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Australian­New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Korean Chamber of Commerce and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Head­ quarters.

Source: Expat Newspaper, 28 March 2014