The government has released the guidelines allowing the use of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) express lane fees to augment the salaries of its personnel.
In Memorandum Order No. 24 issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, a special trust fund will be created from the express lane fees collected by the immigration bureau for the payment of workers’ salaries and overtime pay.
The latest Palace order will be in effect until December 31, 2018 or until the passage of an Immigration Modernization Law, or a measure that will increase the base pay rates of the BI employees.
“The Philippine Immigration Act has not been updated since its passage in 1940, and the basic monthly pay of BI employees has remained extremely low in spite of their work, thereby leading to a large number of resignations and causing prejudice to the efficient delivery of frontline services,” the order read.
“There is a need for an interim measure to augment the salaries of BI employees, in recognition of the indispensability of their functions.” (Genalyn Kabiling)
