BI to resume stamping of PROC passports

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By Jun Ramirez
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced Wednesday it would resume stamping on the regular e-passports of nationals from the People’s Republic of China (PROC) on their arrival and departure.
MB FILE - Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente (Ali Vicoy / MANILA BULLETIN)
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente
(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
The practice of stamping on Chinese passports was stopped in 2012 at the height of the country’s territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.
This stemmed from the move then of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to place Philippine Visas of Chinese nationals on a separate sheet of paper.
The DFA adopted the policy after China introduced a new e-passport with pages that included the historic nine-dash line map where it bases its claim to the disputed islands.
In a memorandum issued by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, immigration officers in the different ports may now affix their stamps adjacent to the Philippine visa of a regular e-passport presented by a PROC passenger.
According to Morente, the change in policy complies with the DFA’s recently-issued foreign service circular (FSC) instructing its Philippine consular officers to affix the Philippine visa on the pages of Chinese passports where the nine-dash line map is drawn.
He added that the previous practice of stamping on a separate sheet of paper has been proven to be problematic as these sheets are easily lost and misplaced by holders.
“We support this policy update of the DFA. In the past, we have also expressed security concerns over the old practice because sheets of papers can easily be lost,” he added.

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