| Transfer of BI headquarters to Pasay mulled |
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has revived a plan to transfer its main building from Intramuros, Manila to the Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the bureau management is seriously studying the proposal to relocate its headquarters in view of the increasing volume of people transacting at the agency daily. David disclosed that he has directed his staff to undertake a feasibility study into the proposed project as it will necessitate a large amount of funding from the national government. He said funding for the project has to be appropriated by Congress and that the building will be constructed in a large vacant lot near the SM Mall of Asia which the BI acquired a few years ago. “Our present space and facilities at the Intramuros office are no longer enough to accommodate our transactions, hence the need for a new building that is conducive to the delivery of fast and efficient service to the public” the BI chief said in a statement. He added that the idea of building a new BI headquarters dates back to the time of former BI Commissioner now Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez who initially sought transfer of the bureau’s main office to the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. BI Associate Commissioner Siegfred Mison, who is spearheading the study, said the proposed building should be designed in conformity with the new immigration law now pending in Congress. Mison disclosed that the proposed bill provides for the employment of 3,000 immigration employees, compared to its present manpower of only over a thousand personnel. Mison also revealed that bureau’s division and section chiefs were already instructed to submit a list and number of personnel based on the proposed immigration act and a diagram of the workers’ functions and workflow. The inputs will then be consolidated and submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which will come up with the architectual and engineering design of the planned edifice. ### |
