BI cancels noontime break of employees for faster service

MANILA, Philippines - There will be no need for applicants for visas and visa extensions to wait between 12 noon to 1 p.m. to receive accommodation from immigration employees. This was after the Bureau of Immigration (BI), under the leadership of Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, implemented a “no lunch break” policy for all officials and employees of the bureau. Libanan said the new policy aims to further reduce the processing time for granting of visas and visa extensions. Under the new scheme, BI employees will take turns in manning the receiving windows and other frontline services to ensure that the bureau’s offices remain open during their noon break. The new policy is expected to further cut the already shorter processing time from less than a day to a mere several hours, Libanan said. Earlier, Libanan introduced the Visa Issuance Made Simple (VIMS) and the Pre-Arranged Visa Upon Arrival (VUA) programs which expedited the processing of BI documents and cut red tape. The schemes resulted in shorter and efficient processing of visas and visa extensions. The bureau has trimmed down documentary requirements by 43 percent, and reduced the processing time by 82 percent. The applications for visa extensions usually take 15 to 50 working days to finish but with the implementation of the said policies, applications filed in the morning can be approved and released in the afternoon. - GMANews.TV