Paper-based departure cards gone by May

MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) will do away with paper-based departure cards starting May1.

Instead,passengers will fill out the departure cards using the online portal eTravel not earlier than 72 hours to not later than three hours from the scheduled time of the flight.

The platform, initially launched in December, harmonizes and consolidates data collection processes at ports of arrival.

“This is a major step in streamlining documents presented by departing travelers, allowing for faster and more efficient immigration processing,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a state- ment over the weekend, adding the platform can also be used by arriving passengers soon.

Dennis Javier, eTravel technical working group chairperson, said travelers may register at the portal starting April15.

The system is an initiative of a sub-technical working group of the InterAgency Task Force, chairedby theBI.

It is a joint project with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Tourism, Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Customs, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Justice, and National Privacy Commission. (PNA)

Leyte women farmers obtain docs to prove land ownership of lands

HILONGOS, Leyte-–Afemale-dominated agrarianreform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) in a remote village in this town thanked the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for helping them obtain legal documents that would strengthen their claim as legitimate owners over twolots they acquired.

The272 members of theBarangay Agutayan Farmers Association (BAFA), including the 63 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), where 165 of them are women, learned that theproperties they have acquired for several years now could be taken back from them because they do not have the legal documents to prove ownership. This was discovered when Ruben Rebato, DAR Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) visited them in the mountain village of Agutayan 2nd week of March2023.

While checking the documents, Rebato found out that although BAFA was progressing as an organization with assets now reaching ₱4.5-million, legal documents that would prove ownership over a lot they had purchased and another onedonated tothem, weremissing.

BAFA lady-president, Vicenta Jaray, even hinted Rebatothat theheirs of theprevious owner whodonatedthe lot where their organization’s building was constructed, are allegedly planning to take the property back from them.

Rebato, whoused to be a legal officer of DAR, is now helping the BAFA officers obtain the Extrajudicial Settlement with Deed of Sale” for the lot they had purchased and “Deed of Transfer” for thedonatedlot, tosecuretheir claims ofownership over theselands.

Further, Rebato promised to guide them in preparing business contracts for the organization’s various business ventures, whichincludevermicast production.

Happy with the turnout of their first meeting with Rebato, Jaray said, “We hope that you will not be transferredimmediately toanother office, sir.”

Program Beneficiaries Development lawyering (PBDLawyering), according toPBD Chief, Melecia Ong, is one of the assistance being extended by the DAR to the ARBs and ARBOs to make their activities and assets legitimate, among others. (DAR)