(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration expressed hope the bill that seeks to modernize the agency will be passed.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente made the statement as he thanked the House of Representatives for passing on third reading House Bill No. 8850 or the “Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act.”
The bill got 209 affirmative votes, zero negatives, and no abstention.
“We thank (the House) for seeing the importance of updating our law,” Morente said.
The measure approved by the House aims to professionalize the immigration service with a more stringent screening of officials and employees.
“The prevailing law has been there since the 1940s, and many of its provisions are already outdated. This new law will reorganize the structure of the BI, specify responsibilities, define visa categories, put in safeguards for checks and balances, and improve the salaries of our personnel,” Morente added.
Once a counterpart in the Senate is passed, the House and the Senate shall meet to reconcile differences in both measures.
After that, the reconciled version shall be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature before it becomes a law.