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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on Wednesday the hiring of 100 immigration officers to man the international airports and seaports nationwide. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente shared that the hiring is part of the agency’s drive to strengthen border control and improve its services to the traveling public. "We see the lack of manpower as one of the primary impediments in delivering a more efficient government service.

Through this hiring, we intend to provide faster and smoother processing in our ports," Morente said. He also disclosed that the Bureau of Immigration is continuously hiring to ensure that the upcoming new international airports are fully manned. Morente shared that the incoming officers, once hired, will undergo rigorous training under the agency's Center for Training and Research before deployment. "They will be housed at the the Philippine Immigration Academy in Clark, Pampanga where they will undergo a two-month training on immigration laws and procedures. After which, they will be assigned in different Bureau of Immigration offices as on-the-job trainees," he shared. Morente added that hired officers must pass examinations before being deployed. "We will only deploy immigration officers who will pass the immigration officers' course. Being an immigration officer is not easy both physically and mentally. That is also why we will only employ the best of the best," he said. It can be recalled that four months ago, the Bureau of Immigration deployed 67 newly-hired immigration officers to the country's ports and subports. "The 100 items are for Immigration Officer I positions with Salary Grade Level 11. You must be a graduate of a four year course, and have a Career Service Professional Second Level Eligibility from the Civil Service," announced Morente. According to the Bureau of Immigration, interested applicants may visit the website careers.immigration.gov.ph to lodge their application.

 

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INTRAMUROS, Manila--the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has placed its men on heightened alert as it braces itself for the upcoming South East Asian Games (SEA Games) and the holiday rush. According to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, he issued the directive following the expected surge of Filipino and foreign travelers in the next few weeks. "We are expecting up to 3% increase in arrivals and departures this holiday season. We are certain that there will be more tourists and balikbayans who will be flying in this Christmas," said Morente.

"Even more now that the SEA Games will be held in the country, we are projecting an added 8,000 delegates including athletes, media, technical officials, volunteers, fans, and audiences," he added. Bureau of Immigration records show that in December 2018 alone, more than 1.5M passengers arrived the country, while more than 1.2M left. Morente shared that many of these are Overseas Filipino Workers and Filipinos living abroad, who come home to celebrate the Christmas season. "Christmas is probably the biggest and most anticipated holiday for our kababayan, hence it's really part of the Filipino culture to want to be home for the holidays," he commented. Meanwhile, Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina shared that they are again enforcing the 'No Leave, No Absences' policy during the SEA Games and holiday rush. "Our men have been instructed not to go on leave during the peak season to maximize our manpower," he said. Medina likewise reminded to travelers to "arrive early, at least three hours before your flight," and appealed to travelers to bear with build ups. The appeal came after a video of long lines at the Mactan Cebu International Airport made rounds on social media. "It was an isolated incident," said Medina. "Sudden buildups sometimes happen especially when there are delayed flights that arrive simultaneously, as in the case of the viral video," he explained. "We appeal to everyone to bear with us should there be some build up, which sometimes happen during peak seasons. But you can be assured that processing is now much faster following the numerous improvements we have implemented in our international ports," Medina added. It can be recalled that the Bureau of Immigration recently hired more than 600 Immigration officers to add to their manpower. Medina likewise highlighted the installation of e-gates which he said "lessens the processing by almost 6 times, lowering the regular 45 seconds to at least 8 seconds," “Our goal is to provide fast and smooth immigration inspection for the SEA Games and the upcoming Yuletide season,” said Medina. Morente reportedly instructed Medina to “keep a close eye on the immigration lines in all international airports to ensure they are minimized”.

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Saturday, 07 December 2019 16:56

Send Flowers and gifts this Christmas

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Happy Holidays! What’s the best time of the year? I don’t know about you, but for us, it’s Christmas.  It’s the season of giving and of course gifts giving. Here at your flower patch you can send flower and gifts to the Philippines. You can send them with free delivery to selected areas for your family, friends and love ones. Again what’s the best time of the year? I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s Christmas.  It’s the season of giving and of course gifts.To top it all, we get to spend time with our family and love ones. People start to shop for gifts in preparation of Christmas day. Yahooooo. I always look forward in selecting gifts for my family, friends and loved ones that I know will bring a smile on their faces on Christmas morning. The excitement that gifts provide safely nested under that nice colorful Christmas tree is uncanny.

But the problem is shopping for all the gifts you need this Christmas, first there is the Christmas party in the office. Why not send this lovely (Fruit Basket A) Basket Arrangement of 6 Gerberas with Mangos (2pcs.), Apples (3pcs.), Oranges (3pcs.), Pears (3pcs.), Grapes (3/4 kilo) and a cluster of Bananas priced at 2,595, (Fruit Basket B) Basket Arrangement of 18 Gerberas and 1 Stem Stargazer Lily with Mangos (2pcs.), Red Apples (3pcs.), Green Apples (3pcs.), Oranges (3pcs.), Pears (3pcs.), Grapes (3/4 kilo) and a cluster of Bananas priced at 4,895, (Fruit Basket C) Basket Arrangement of 18 Gerberas and 1 Stem Stargazer Lily with Mangos (2pcs.), Red Apples (3pcs.), Green Apples (3pcs.), Oranges (3pcs.), Pears (3pcs.), Grapes (3/4 kilo) and a cluster of Bananas priced at 4,995, (Fruit Basket D) Basket Arrangement of 9 Roses with Red Apples (2pcs.), Oranges (2pcs.), Pears (2pcs.), Pineapple (1pc.), Papaya (1pc.), Grapes (3/4 kilo) and a cluster of Bananas priced at 2,695, and (Fruit Basket E) Basket Arrangement of 18 Roses and 6 Gerberas with Mangos (2pcs.), Red Apples (3pcs.), Green Apples (3pcs.), Oranges (3pcs.), Pears (3pcs.), Grapes (3/4 kilo) and a cluster of Bananas priced at 5,095.

Second is the Christmas party with exchange gifts with your friends. We suggest our (BAO BAO THE PANDA) Bao Bao the Panda Stuffed Toy priced at 3,995, (ELMO BEAR) Elmo Bear Around 24" in height priced at 1,695, (TOBY BEAR) Toby Bear Around 36" in height priced at 2,895 and (SCARF BEAR) Scarf Bear (Scarf Bear) Around 20" in height priced at 1,595, which is a best seller this season. Third let us not forget the Christmas dinner with your extended family. These are your cousins, uncles, aunts, lolos and lola and others. So, we'll be happy in delivering the (FP-B171) Bouquet of 2 Dozen Bangkok Roses (1 Dozen Yellow, 1 Dozen Lilac) priced at 3,295, (FP-B233) Bouquet of 2 Dozens of Imported Ecuadorian Roses priced at 9,995, (FP-B283) Bouquet 2 Dozen Glowing Roses (1 Doz. Red & 1 Doz. White) with I Love You Balloon, White Iloveyou Bear & ferrero 16's priced at 3,595, (FP-B180) Bouquet of 6 Red Roses priced at 1,095, and (FP-B164) Bouquet of 15 Roses (12 white and 3 red) priced at 1,995. which will definitely stand out. What about your children’s school party? There are a lot of kids expecting gifts from everyone. It’s so nice to be a kid. We suggest buying our promo since this includes a free stuffed toy. Your baby can have the toy and he can give the flowers to his special monito. Dont tell him, it’s a surprise!

This is our Christmas promo Avail a Bouquet of 1 Dozen Rose for Php 1,395 and get 1 mini Panda for Free!! Free Delivery within Metro Manila. Hurry!! Order now and avoid the rush! Promo runs until supplies last.Last and not the least is your Noche Buena. These thought of all of these festivities while writing this in our blog gives me a warm feeling and tingly feeling of excitement.  Can’t wait till it’s Christmas. Well we suggest a nice center piece on the dinner table which is the FP-V37 4 Dozen Roses in a Vase priced at 5,295.00Another thing nice besides the fact that there are no classes, there is no work, well for most of us, is that it is a holiday, did i just repeat that? Well Christmas is about the season of giving gifts. It is the time of the year that everybody receives gifts. So its gifts gifts and gifts.

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PASAY, Philippines—Two more suspected human trafficking victims were stopped from leaving by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for falsifying their birthdates. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the two female passengers, who presented valid overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) documents, were intercepted last Wednesday at the NAIA terminal 1 by members of the Bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU). According to reports, the duo attempted to depart via a Scoot Airways flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia allegedly to work as household service workers when they were flagged for secondary inspection by frontline immigration officers. Medina said the officers doubted the ages of the passengers as indicated in the passports due to inconsistencies in their answers and their demeanor.

 

INTRAMUROS, Manila—The management of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) exhorted its officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other ports to keep up their vigilance after it was announced that the Philippines retained its Tier 1 ranking in the US government’s human trafficking index for 2019. “I commend and congratulate the men and women of our port operations division (POD) who guard our ports day and night to ensure that countrymen are saved from the scourge of human trafficking,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement. The Philippines retained for the fourth consecutive year its Tier 1 ranking in the recently-released 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of State. Morente said that the rating is “a tribute to your hard work and dedication to your duties as gatekeepers of our country.”

Morente urged Bureau of Immigration personnel in the different ports to “remain vigilant as there is no sign that these human trafficking syndicates who prey on the poor, including minors, will stop their nefarious activities.” Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina, for his part, said “the latest TIP report will surely inspire and motivate POD personnel manning the ports to sustain their efforts in fighting human trafficking.” Medina said there will be no letup in the bureau’s anti-trafficking campaign even as he reported that more than 10,000 travelers were stopped from leaving the country from January to April this year, mostly for having incomplete travel papers and questionable purpose in going abroad. A Tier 1 rating means that the Philippine government fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has continually demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to combat human trafficking. The Philippines leads the ranking in East Asia and the Pacific, sharing the Tier 1 status with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Other countries mentioned in the report who were given a Tier 1 rating are Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain. "The Tier 1 status was given to only 33 countries all over the world," said Morente. "We are proud to be a big part in the government's efforts against human trafficking. We will not stop protecting our fellow Filipinos from this threat. The result of this report is a reminder why we do what we do," he added. The report also acknowledged the BI’s accomplishment in deferring the departure of 24,753 passengers due to incomplete or missing travel documents or misrepresentation, referring for investigation 286 potential cases of suspected trafficking, identifying 286 potential victims of trafficking, and arresting nine suspected traffickers. BI stopped 199 foreign registered sex offenders from entering the country last year, the same report stated.

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PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has deported 294 Chinese nationals in two chartered flights earlier today at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement, announced the deportation of said aliens who were part of the 329 arrested in 8 different hotels and establishments last September 16 through an operation of Bureau of Immigration Intelligence agents with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM).

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PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has deported 294 Chinese nationals in two chartered flights earlier today at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement, announced the deportation of said aliens who were part of the 329 arrested in 8 different hotels and establishments last September 16 through an operation of Bureau of Immigration Intelligence agents with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM).

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Wednesday, 20 November 2019 10:18

COOKIE’S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY (PANNA COTTA)

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Ingredients: 

•1L milk
•150ml All Purpose Cream
•1cup cookies peanut butter spread
•1tsp vanilla essence
•25g powdered gelatin, unflavored
•¼ white sugar

Garnish: 
3tbsp dark chocolate
3pcs Mint Leaves

 

Procedure: 
1. Bloom the gelatin in hot water 
2. Combine with milk, cream, and peanut butter. Put in a blender and blend until smooth 
3. Transfer in pan, add in sugar and vanilla. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the gelatin until completely dissolved 
4. Strain into ramekins and put inside the chiller for it to set 
5. Serve topped with dark chocolate and mint.

 

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CEBU, Philippines—Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) rescued 17 suspected human trafficking victims who were illegally recruited to work as household service workers (HSW) in the Middle East. Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the female passengers disguised as tourists were intercepted on Oct. 16 and 17 before they could board their flights to Hongkong and Macau en route to their final destinations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“It appears that these victims were recruited by a syndicate which separately booked them on several flights in order to mislead our immigration officers on the purpose of their trip. And that is to work abroad without documentation,” Medina said. He surmised that due to the Bureau of Immigration’s intensified campaign against trafficking, the syndicates are attempting to shift their operations to other exit ports. “They are, however, wrong in assuming that we are less vigilant in guarding our ports outside Manila,” Medina stressed, adding that Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has already alerted Bureau of Immigration personnel manning the different reports to be extra vigilant following the incident at Mactan airport. Ma. Asuncion Palma-Gil, BI-MCIA’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) head, disclosed that the 17 passengers were offloaded from five different flights and that 13 of them were hired to work in Dubai while the other four were bound for Qatar. “They all admitted having UAE and Qatari visas in their possession and that they were recruited by individuals they only met via Facebook or through their people they know currently working in Dubai and Doha,” Palma-Gil said. She added that the passengers were not familiar with their travel itinerary and what they would do upon arriving in Hongkong and Macau as they would only rely on instructions to be given to them by their handlers. “This is a clear case of human trafficking wherein victims who are jobless and have no visible means of support are sent abroad and put in harm’s way to satisfy the cravings for profit of unscrupulous recruiters,” Palma-Gil added. The women were later turned over to the MCIA Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.

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MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration agents announced the arrest of a Korean national wanted by authorities in Seoul for swindling two compatriots of more than 100 million won. Bureau of Immigration intelligence officer Bobby Raquepo, chief of the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU), identified the captured Korean as 49-year-old Kim Sang Wook, who was arrested on Tuesday in Malvar Street, Malate, Manila.

The FSU operatives were armed with a mission order from Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente who issued the same at the request of the Korean embassy in Manila. Raquepo said that a Korean court had issued an arrest warrant against Kim who is also the subject of a red notice from Interpol. He further disclosed that Kim was a teacher wanted for swindling his victims of 100 million won. Kim was reportedly found defrauding his victims six times by deceiving and promising his victims’ sons that they could be employed as teachers. Investigations revealed that Kim fled to Manila on February 2015 under a tourist visa and has not left the country since then. According to Raquepo, Kim will be deported, considering he is an undesirable alien for being a fugitive from justice. Morente then warned foreign fraudsters and fugitives staying in the country, “We are serious in our drive against undesirable aliens. We will hunt each one down, deport them, and bar them from re-entering the country,” he said. Kim is temporarily detained at the Bureau of Immigration Warden Facility (BIWF) pending deportation proceedings. Meanwhile, Morente lauded the improvements made at the BIWF. BIWF Chief Remiecar Caguiron detailed that the BIWF has undergone a total revamp under her administration. "Apart from improving the quality of our personnel through seminars on jail management and human rights, we have made numerous improvements in the facilities of the detention center," said Caguiron. "We renovated a lot of areas that were already old and dilapidated, and used the open spaces to create a multi-purpose hall," she shared. Caguiron clarified that the BIWF "is not a jail, but a detention center" where erring foreigners are temporarily held pending their deportation. The new facilities were made following calls to improve the conditions of the detention center. "The BIWF has a capacity of less than 200, hence it is quite a challenge especially since our intel has been conducting numerous arrests. The management actually is looking at the possibility of setting up another bigger detention center somewhere north of Luzon. This is part of our long term plans," she shared.

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