THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) inaugurated its bay service one-stop-shop (OSS) at the Port of Manila on Friday.

The Port of Manila is the largest and the premier international shipping gateway to the country.

The event was graced by several key officials from the maritime and transportation sectors and stakeholders of the bureau.

The new office, located at Pier 15, South Harbor, Manila, will serve as a 24/7 outpost for on-duty boarding officers for arriving and departing vessels at the port of Manila.

According to BI Bay Service Section (BSS) Chief Alnazib Decampong, the OSS was one of his “priority” projects to improve the conduct of boarding formalities of BI officers.

“It is high time that we modernize immigration services at the ports,” said Decampong.

“This project will provide accessible, swift, and safe crew change services for signing on and signing off seafarers, [and] provide immigration services to our stakeholders in Manila,” he added.

In 2020, the Philippine government established crew change hubs and opened the country’s borders to international vessels to facilitate crew change operations that are essential for the unhampered flow of supply chains across the globe.

Being the world’s largest supplier of seafarers, the country opened a green lane for crew change for seafarers to allow vessels to refresh their manpower speedily and safely.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente lauded the efforts of the BSS in improving its facilities for its clientele.

“We have pushed for the improvement of immigration services nationwide by providing facilities that would allow easier processing, in accordance with the ease of doing business law,” said Morente.

“This project is our contribution to improving seaport operations, which is vital in reinvigorating the country’s economy,” Morente pointed out. By Jun I. Legaspi

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Jun I. Legaspi