Acr Card Special Express Lane @ Mactan Airport?

[russellmania]

Yesterday I arrived in Cebu Mactan Airport and went to the immigration office to apply for my 59 day visa. After the officer brought my documents back he escorted me to the empty immigration line,and I glanced up and the sign read..Diplomats,ACR CARD, etc etc. The other lines were a mile long. So if passengers are holders an ACR card was that the express line I was standing in to breeze through immigration?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Sounds like he did you a favour.  I would expect that line to be for permanent ACR holders (married visa) rather than temporary ACR holders (tourist visa) but I'd sure like to hear the replies of others so I know if I can use that line.  What I hate is standing in line (even a relatively short one) only to get to the front and be told I'm in the wrong line and need to go "over there" to the end of the longest line.  For those unfamiliar, the scene at the arrivals usually looks something like this:

[Kiwi-Alan]

Have a look at your receipt and see if you were charged the 1000P express lane fee. I know they charge that at the Gaisano Grandmall Mactan Office, even when there is only one lane. Good way to take more money off the rich long White nose.

[Kiwi-Alan]

After looking at photo, yes you use that lane not the OFW lane/

[scott h]

be told I'm in the wrong line and need to go "over there" to the end of the longest line.

 

Dave...........(not to rub it in,,,,,,,,,but I will with relish :hystery: ) You should have married a gal that used to work in the Department of Tourism and whose prior work mates are now supervisors. When we arrive at NAIA we are met at the gate, and escorted through the Diplomatic lane, then through the special customs lane.

 

There are times when I just flat out love nepotism :thumbsup: .

[Markham]

I would expect that line to be for permanent ACR holders (married visa) rather than temporary ACR holders (tourist visa)

That is my understanding and, indeed, the lane I was ushered through the last time I arrived at NAIA.

[russellmania]

Have a look at your receipt and see if you were charged the 1000P express lane fee. I know they charge that at the Gaisano Grandmall Mactan Office, even when there is only one lane. Good way to take more money off the rich long White nose.

The amount I paid was P2700 when I gave my passport to the immigration officer for the 59 day extension. I know they will escort you thru immigration,but Im just curious about the ACR CARD HOLDER ,Diplomats, etc etc line I was in. Our ACR cards are valid for one year,so are we eligible to jump in that empty(most of the time) lane when arriving in the Phils?

[Dave Hounddriver]

are we eligible

 

As you have likely read, the general consensus seems to be that line is for permanent ACR card holders but I am sure each individual will get different results when trying that line.

 

JGF is very good at writing letters to BI to get that kind of information and yet, each line ends at an individual making decisions and that decision might be to send you to the end of a different line regardless of any pieces of paper you are holding.  All you can do is try, or not.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Have a look at your receipt and see if you were charged the 1000P express lane fee. I know they charge that at the Gaisano Grandmall Mactan Office, even when there is only one lane. Good way to take more money off the rich long White nose.

 

 

If I recall correctly that fee was introduced moons ago to help fund new computers or something like that. The fee remains and the name of the fee has never been changed so yes it confuses people as they don't see anything express but rename it to what you like although I expect it will always be a fee.  :thumbsup:

 

Just to add, this explains why they still have the fee and might explain that things cost money to run.

.............................

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers want to delete a special provision from the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016 as it could lead to the removal of nearly a third of personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

 

Some 133 lawmakers have signed a resolution urging the House of Representatives committee on appropriations to delete a provision seeking to transfer BI collections from express lane fees and other charges to the National Treasury.

 

It will result in the removal of about 30 percent of BI personnel whose salaries are funded by these fees, they said.

 

Resolution 2356 was addressed to committee on appropriations chairman Isidro Ungab, who is expected to deliberate on the BI’s budget this week.

 

Under the present system, the BI’s express lane fees, which are deposited in the Special Trust Fund, represent the only source of money to pay the salaries of confidential agents and overtime services of all BI personnel, according to Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a former BI commissioner, and the resolution’s principal author.

 

“If such collections will be deposited in the National Treasury as income of the General Fund, which is proposed in the 2016 National Expenditure Program, 30 percent of the BI workforce will be instantly removed or separated upon the effectivity of the 2016 GAA (General Appropriations Act) or on Jan. 1, 2016,” he said.It will leave the BI with only 1,473 permanent or regular employees and will eventually result in a shortage of more than 2,500 personnel, he added.

 

Of the 1,473 BI regular employees, 1,152 are currently receiving monthly net take-home pay ranging from P6,000 to P16,500, Rodriguez said.

 

They are likely to leave the BI and reduce the already small workforce to just 321 employees, he added.

 

Of the remaining 321 employees, 153 who have rendered 16 to 42 years of government service are expected to avail themselves of optional retirement, leaving the BI with only 168 regular employees, Rodriguez said.

 

“With only 168 personnel possibly to remain after the effectivity of the 2016 GAA, the BI cannot sustain its effective and efficient nationwide operations and undoubtedly, lead to the collapse and paralysis of one of the country’s agencies performing critical law enforcement and national security functions,” he said.

 

The resolution calls on the committee to delete Section 3: Special Provision (s), Paragraph 2, Article XV, Department of Justice, C. Bureau of Immigration of the 2016 NEP and allow the continuance of the present system by which collections made by the BI from express lane fees and charges are deposited in the Express Lane Trust System.

 

In 1988, then BI commissioner Miriam Defensor-Santiago devised and instituted the BI Express Lane Fee/Charge to be collected from “other persons served” based on Section 7-A of Commonwealth Act 613, as amended, otherwise known as the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.

 

All collections derived from express lane fees and charges are deposited in the Special Trust Fund in accordance with Section 2.2.3 of Joint Circular No. 1-97 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance (DOF).

 

The BI Express Lane Program, the fundamental objectives of which were to address the lack of personnel and to curb the graft and corrupt practices in the delivery of immigration services, was approved and ruled as legal by the Department of Justice, the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/09/15/1499955/133-lawmakers-hit-dbm-proposal-transfer-bi-collections

Edited February 1, 2016 by Jollygoodfellow

[Jollygoodfellow]

 

I would expect that line to be for permanent ACR holders (married visa) rather than temporary ACR holders (tourist visa)

That is my understanding and, indeed, the lane I was ushered through the last time I arrived at NAIA.

 

 

 

You're lucky Mark. Most members here are that old they have to substitute the word ushered to assisted.   :hystery:

 

Guys, guys, sorry I was only joking.........  Guys   :)