The new A/D cards will allow passengers to write the required information in the cards and the hand-written information would already be recognizable by computers. Through this new system, BI would do away with the encoding of information, which makes the processing of travel documents longer and more tedious.

“The new A/D card will likewise help us effectively track the movement of people who are likely involved in terrorism, human trafficking, drugs and arms smuggling, and other transnational crimes,” said Libanan.

“The launch of this card is likewise very timely, because this will help us accurately identify and locate any passengers afflicted with a dangerous disease,” the Commissioner added.

The shift to the machine-readable arrival/departure cards is another component of Libanan’s program to cut processing time in the bureau to give better services to the people.

Anti-fraud division chief Simeon Vallada said the machine-readable arrival/departure cards gets rid of at least one step in the processing of travel documents of arriving and departing passengers.

Though the BI's work at the airports is already in compliance with international standards for the processing of travel documents, Vallada said the machine-readable arrival/departure cards will put the processing time at the airports at a minimum.

The reforms introduced by Libanan at the bureau have cut down the documentary requirements for visas by 43 percent, and cut the processing time by 82 percent. (BI News)