THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Davao has posted the second best monthly revenue collection from foreigners in the country, a top official said.
BI-Davao alien control officer Eddie Delima said during the inauguration of Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp.'s (SAMC) Davao Works Steel Mill in Bunawan on Thursday that their office averaged around P10 to P12 million worth of collection monthly.
"BI-Davao is number two in the whole Philippines. We are second to Cebu. Outside of Manila, Davao is second. We are collecting about P10 to P12-million a month or about P120 million a year. I think we will remain number two because mas marami ang foreigners sa Cebu," Delima said.
Delima said they have been hitting their P10-million target and he is positive that by 2015 they could increase their revenue to P12 to P15-million.
He attributed the volume of collection to the different Visa conversions and extensions that their office is offering saying that before, Visa conversions are only processed in Manila. But since he assumed as the agency’s top official his request to allow BI-Davao to process Visa conversions have been granted and this has boosted their office’s revenue collection.
The BI-Davao official said they were also allowed to process six-month extensions for foreigners instead of the two-month extensions which has also increased their revenues.
He also expressed optimism that they could catch up with Cebu as they are only behind by around P3-million per month.