Belo's face on BI's E/D Cards

**chua_riwap** · October 14th, 2010 08:15 PM

Dati, Smart Telecom, then yung face ni PNoy. Now yung face ni Belo. Sa atin lang ata ang may "commercial" sa Immigration arrival/departure cards.........

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10...tion-cards-now

BI forced to use Belo immigration cards, for now

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) may be rescinding a contract for the printing of the arrival-departure (A/D) cards, but it will have to make do for now with those that have already been distributed around the world.

In separate interviews with Umagang Kay Ganda’s Punto por Punto and ANC’s Headstart, BI officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said he has already ordered airport operations division chief Arvin Santos to recall all A/D cards bearing the face of dermatologist-to-the-stars Vicky Belo.

“Pipilitin kong mahabol ang mga cards na iyan, sana matapos before the end of the year,” he said. He noted there is easily about 1 million in circulation in international airports around the world.

“In the meantime, we’ll be forced to use these cards but I will be making a discussion with the Airline Operators Council this afternoon to discuss a proposal of reviving the 21-year old practice where they were in charge of distributing the cards,” he said.

‘No problem with Belo’s face’

Ledesma said there is nothing wrong with the advertisement. It is the contract itself that suffers from infirmities, he said. The firm e.Xtend, Inc. currently provides the A/D cards for immigration purposes. The 15-year exclusive contract was signed in 2009. While the company shoulders the cost of the printing of the cards, it solicits advertisements to generate revenues.

“Hindi issue ang litrato ni Belo…Pwede maglagay ng patalastas basta hindi labag sa batas at hindi nakakaapekto sa damdamin ng nakararami. Higit sa lahat, hindi dapat nakukumpromiso and imahe ng aming opisina,” he said.

The cards first came to public attention after President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III noticed his picture on them while on his way to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

Ledesma said Aquino had already ordered previously that his photograph should not be used in any government project, such as the billboards used by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Nonetheless, e.Xtend continued to print the cards despite the directive, he said. The breach happened the second time with the Belo advertisement, he said. BI should have been consulted with the design, he added.

Previous admin explains

In a phone patch, the chief of staff of former Commissioner Marcelino Libanan explained why the former administration had to enter into a contract with e.Xtend.

“Kinailangang baguhin ang proseso kasi machine readable na. Kailangan ng bagong system…Ang problema, wala budget ang BI kaya kinailangan ng private partner,” chief-of-staff Norman Tansingco said. He said however that the contract specifically allows BI to pull-out the cards that are contrary to public morals.

There were no conflicts during Libanan’s time, he said. “Nung una, nag-uusap kami sino-sino mga advertisers na ilalagay. Pero yung picture nakikita na lang namin pagkatapos,” he said.

DoJ review lacking

Ledesma said he learned yesterday as well that there is another reason to scrap the deal. “It did not pass the normal bidding process. It was not reviewed by the Department of Justice,” he said.

The DoJ has the legal know-how if a contract is onerous or disadvantageous to the government. Ledesma also explained that it also needs to work with the Department of Tourism for the promotion of the industry.

“Paano naman kami ng DOT makikipagsanggunian sa isa’t isa…kung parati kaming pangungunahan ng e.Xtend,” he added. He said he recognizes the fact that Belo is also promoting medical tourism.

Nonetheless, “you can do [advertising] with a smaller one. The general idea of the A/D card is to give institutions the capability to locate [the passengers]…I don’t see the reason why it should be so big. A logo will suffice,” he said.

**Monseratto** · October 14th, 2010 10:23 PM

They don't have the budget to print their own immigration card. They let a private contractor print it for free... Do you believe this?

Ledesma said there is nothing wrong with the advertisement. It is the contract itself that suffers from infirmities, he said. The firm e.Xtend, Inc. currently provides the A/D cards for immigration purposes. The 15-year exclusive contract was signed in 2009. While the company shoulders the cost of the printing of the cards, it solicits advertisements to generate revenues.

“Kinailangang baguhin ang proseso kasi machine readable na. Kailangan ng bagong system…Ang problema, wala budget ang BI kaya kinailangan ng private partner,” chief-of-staff Norman Tansingco said. He said however that the contract specifically allows BI to pull-out the cards that are contrary to public morals.