ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1940.

• Number: Republic Act No. 503
• Sections: 20

Section 1

SECTION 1. Paragraph (a) of section five of Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and thirteen is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(a) The position of Immigrant Inspector is created, appointments to which shall be made upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Immigration in accordance with the Civil Service Laws."

Section 2

SEC. 2. The same Act is amended by inserting between section seven and eight thereof a new section with the title "Assignment of Immigration Employees to Overtime Work," to be known as section seven-A, which shall read as follows:

"ASSIGNMENT OF IMMIGRATION EMPLOYEES TO OVERTIME WORK"

"SEC. 7-A. Immigration employees may be assigned by the Commissioner of Immigration to do overtime work fixed by him when the service rendered is to be paid for shipping companies and airlines or other persons served."

Section 3

SEC. 3.Section nine of Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and thirteen is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 9. Aliens departing from any place outside the Philippines, who are otherwise admissible and who qualify within one of the following categories, may be admitted as nonimmigrants:

"(a) A temporary visitor coming for business or of pleasure or for reasons of health;

"(b) A person in transit to a destination outside the Philippines;

"(c) A seaman serving as such on a vessel arriving at a port of the Philippines and seeking to enter temporarily and solely in the pursuit of his calling as a seaman;

"(d) An alien entitled to enter the Philippines solely to carry on trade between the Philippines and the foreign state of which he is a national under and in pursuance of the provisions of a treaty of commerce and navigation, and his wife, and his unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, if accompanying or following to join him;

"(e) An accredited official of a foreign government recognized by the Government of the Philippines, his family, attendants, servants, and employees;

"(f) A student, having means sufficient for his education and support in the Philippines, who is at least eighteen years of age and who seeks to enter the Philippines temporarily and solely for the purpose of taking up a course of study higher than high school at a university, seminary, academy, college or school approved for such alien students by the Commissioner of Immigration;(5)

"(g) An alien coming to prearranged employment, for whom the issuance of a visa has been authorized in accordance with section twenty of this Act, and his wife, ant his unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, if accompanying him or if following to join him within a period of six months from the date of his admission into the Philippines as a nonimmigrant under this paragraphs

"An alien who is admitted as a nonimmigrant cannot remain in the Philippines permanently. To obtain permanent admission, a nonimmigrant alien must depart voluntarily to some foreign country and procure from appropriate Philippine consul the proper visa and thereafter undergo examination by the officers of the Bureau of Immigration at a Philippine port of entry for determination of his admissibility in accordance with the requirements of this Act. "(7)

Section 4

SEC.4. Section ten of the same Act is hereby amended to fead as follows:

"SEC.10. Nonimmigrants must present for admission into the Philippine unexpired passports or official documents in the nature of passports issued by the governments of the countries to which they owe allegiance or other travel documents showing their origin and identity as prescribed by regulations, and valid passport visas granted by diplomatic or consular officers, except that such documents shall not be required of the following aliens: (a) A child qualifying as a nonimmigrant, born subsequent to the issuance of the passport visa of an accompanying parent, the visa not having expired; and (b) A seaman qualifying as such under section 9 (c) of this Act." (8)

Section 5

SEC. 5. Section thirteen of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 13. Under the conditions set forth in this Act, there may be admitted into the Philippines immigrants, termed 'quota immigrants' not in excess of fifty (50) of any one nationality or without nationality for any one calendar year, except that the following immigrants, termed 'nonquota immigrants,' may be admitted without regard to such numerical limitations.

"The corresponding Philippine Consular representative abroad shall investigate and certify the eligibility of a quota immigrant previous to his admission into the Philippines. Qualified and desirable aliens who are in the Philippnes under temporary stay may be admitted within the quota, subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of section 9 of this Act.

"(a) The wife or the husband or the unmarried child twenty-one years of age of a Philippine citizen, accompanying or following to join such citizen;

"(b) A child of alien parents born during the temporary visits abroad of the mother, the mother having been previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, if the child is accompanying or coming to join a parent and applies for admission within five years from the date of its birth;

"(c) A child born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration visa of the accompanying parent, the visa not having expired;

"(d) A woman who was a citizen of the Philippine and who lost her citizenship because of her marriage to an alien or by reason of the loss of Philippine citizenship by her husband, and her unmarried child under twenty-one years of age, if accompanying or following to join her;

"(e) A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines." (9)

Section 6

SEC. 6. Section 15 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 15. Immigrants must present for admission into the Philippines unexpired passports or official documents in the nature of passports issued by the governments of the countries to which they owe allegiance or other travel documents showing their origin and identity as prescribed by regulations, and valid immigration visas issued b consular officers, except that children born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration visa or a reentry permit in case of children born abroad during the temporary visit abroad of their mothers as provided for in paragraph (c) of section thirteen of this Act the immigration visa or reentry permit not having expired, and returning residents as referred to in section thirteen (f) hereof, presents unexpired reentry permits as provided for in section twenty-two two of this Act, shall not be subject to these documents requirements. No child shall however be exempt from these documentary requirements unless the alleged mow shall have proved her state of pregnancy before the consular officers in the case of children born subsequent to the issuance of a valid immigration visa, or before the immigration authorities prior to her departure from the Philippines in the case of children born abroad of mothers with valid reentry permits: Provided, however, That in the latter case should the mother become pregnant after her departure from the Philippines the fact of her pregnancy shall be proved before the consular officers who shall issue the appropriate certification for presentation to the immigration authorities upon her return to the Philippines."

Section 7

SEC. 7. Paragraph (a) of section twenty of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 20. (a) A passport visa for a nonimmigrant referred to in section nine (g) of this Act who is coming to prearranged employment shall not be issued by a consular officer until the consular officer shall have received authorization for the issuance of the visa. Such authorization shall be given only on petition filed with the Commissioner of Immigration establishing that no person can be found in the Philippines willing and competent to perform the labor or service for which the nonimmigrant is desired and that the nonimmigrant's admission would be beneficial to the public interest. The petition shall be made under oath, in the form and manner prescribed by regulations, by the prospective employer or his representative. The petition shall state fully the nature of the labor or service for which the nonimmigrant is desired, the probable length of time for which he is to be engaged, the wages and other compensation which he is to receive, the reasons why a person in the Philippines cannot be engaged to perform the labor or service for which the nonimmigrant is desired and why the nonimmigrant's admission would be to the public interest. The petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of any written contract or agreement entered into for the immigrant's service and shall contain such additional information as may be deemed material. Substantiation of all the allegations made in petition shall be required and the allegations that no person can be found in the Philippines willing and competent to perform the labor or service for which the nonimmigrant is desired and that the nonimmigrant's admission would be beneficial to the public interest shall be established beyond doubt by convincing and satisfactory evidence. (11)

"The title 'Immigration Visas for Nonquota Immigrant' shall be understood to refer only to section twenty-one of the same Act."

Section 8

SEC. 8. Section twenty-two of the same Act is hereby amended by adding a second paragraph to read as follows:

"The permit, upon approval of the Commissioner of Immigration, may be made good for several trips within the period of one year: Provided, however, That the holder thereof shall be required to pay the fee required under section forty-two (a) (3) of this Act for every trip he makes." (12)

Section 9

SEC. 9. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of section twenty-seven of the same Act are hereby amended to read as follows:

"(b) A board of special inquiry shall have authority (1) to determine whether an alien seeking to enter or land in the Philippines shall be allowed to enter or land or shall be excluded, and (2) to make its findings and recommendations in all the cases provided for in section twenty-nine of this Act wherein the Commissioner of Immigration may admit an alien who is otherwise inadmissible. For this purpose, the board or any member thereof, may administer oaths and take evidence and in case of necessity may issue subpoena and/or subpoena duces tecum. The hearing of all cases brought before a board of special inquiry shall be conducted under rules of procedure to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Immigration. The decision of any two members of the board shall prevail and shall be final unless reversed on appeal by the Board of Commissioners as hereafter stated, or, in the absence of an appeal, unless reversed by the Board of Commissioners after a review by it, motu proprio of the entire proceedings within one year from the promulgation of said decision. At the conclusion of the hearing of any case, the board of special inquiry shall at once proceed to deliberate and decide on the merits thereof. The decision shall be promulgated and the findings and recommendation, in proper cases, submitted not later than two days from the date of the deliberation. Should the board of special inquiry need more time to make a written decision of findings and recommendation in view of the nature of the case, the chairman thereof shall report the case to the Commissioner of Immigration who may grant an extension of time if he considers it necessary.

"(c) An alien excluded by a board of special inquiry or a dissenting member thereof may appeal to the Board of Commissioners, whose decision in the case shall be final. The decision on appeal shall be put in writing and promulgated not less than seven days from the time the case is submitted for decision. In appeal cases, the alien shall have the right to be represented by an attorney or counsel who shall have access to the record of the board of special inquiry in the particular case on appeal." (13)

Section 10

SEC. 10. Paragraphs (14) and (15) of section twenty-nine (a) of the same Act are hereby amended to read as follows:

"(14) Persons coming to perform unskilled manual labor in pursuance of a promise or offer of employment, express or implied, but this provision shall not apply to persons bearing passport visas authorized by section twenty of this Act;

"(15) Persons who have been excluded or deported from the Philippines, but this provision may be waived in the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration: Provided, however, That the Commissioner of Immigration shall not exercise his discretion in favor of aliens excluded or deported on the ground of conviction for any crime involving moral turpitude or for any crime penalized under sections forty-five and forty-six of this Act or on the ground of having engaged in hoarding, blackmarketing or profiteering unless such aliens have previously resided in the Philippines immediately before his exclusion or deportation for period of ten years or more or are married to native Filipino women." (14)

Section 11

SEC. 11. Section 32 of the same Act is hereby amended by adding second paragraph which shall read as follows:

"The crew lists of incoming vessels shall be duly visaed by Philippine consular officials abroad." (15)

Section 12

SEC. 12. Sections thirty-five and thirty-six of the Act are amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 35. The cost of maintenance while on land, medical treatment in hospital or elsewhere, burial in event of death, and transfer to the vessel in the event of return of any alien brought to the Philippines and temporarily removed from the vessel for examination by order of the immigration officers, shall be borne by the owner or owners of the vessel on which the alien came.

"SEC. 36. An alien brought to the Philippines who is excluded shall be immediately sent back, in accommodations of the same class in which he arrived, to the country whence he came, on the same vessel bringing him, unless in the opinion of the Commissioner of Immigration, immediate return is not practicable or proper. The expense of the return of such an alien shall be borne by the owner or owners of such vessel. If the Commissioner of Immigration finds that immediate return is not practicable or proper, or if the vessel by which the excluded alien came has left the Philippines and it is impracticable for any reason to return the alien within a reasonable time by another vessel owned by the same interests, the cost of return may be paid by the Government and recovered from the owner, agent, or consignee of the vessel. Where return to the country whence the excluded alien came cannot for any reason be effected, the Commissioner of Immigration may direct the alien's removal to the country of his nativity or of which he is a, national, and the cost of such removal, if removal by vessel on which he came or by another vessel owned by the same interests cannot be accomplished within a reasonable time, shall likewise be at the expense of the owners of such vessel."(16)

Section 13

SEC. 13. Subparagraphs (1) and (4) of paragraph (a) of section thirty-seven of the same Act are hereby amended to read as follows:

"(1) Any alien who enters the Philippines after the effective date of this Act by means of false and misleading statements or without inspection and admission by the immigration authorities at a designated port of entry or at any place other than at a designated port of entry;

"(4) Any alien who is convicted and sentenced for a violation of the law governing prohibited drugs;"(18)

The following grounds for deportation are added to the grounds for deportation provided in the same section to read as follows:

"(10) Any alien who, at any time within five years after entry, shall have been convicted of violating the provisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and fifty-three, otherwise known as the Philippine Alien Registration Act of 1941, or who, at any time after entry, shall have been convicted more than once of violating the provisions of the same Act. (19)

"(11) Any alien who engages in profiteering, hoarding, or blackmarketing, independent of any criminal action which may be brought against him. (20)

"(12) Any alien who is convicted of any offense penalized under Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and seventy-three, otherwise known as the Revised Naturalization Laws of the Philippines, or any law relating to acquisition of Philippine citizenship. (21)

"(13) Any alien who defrauds his creditor by absconding or alienating properties to prevent them from, being attached or executed." Paragraph (b) of the same section is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(b) Deportation may be effected under clauses 2, 7, 8, 11 and 12 of paragraph (a) of this section at any time after entry, but shall not be effected under any other clause unless the arrest in the deportation proceedings is made within five years after the cause for deportation rises. Deportation under clauses 3 and 4 shall not be effected if the court, or judge thereof, when sentencing the alien, shall recommend to the Commissioner of Immigration that the alien be not deported." (22)

Section 14

SEC. 14. Paragraph (e) of section forty-one of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 41. (a) Any alien in the Philippines at the time of the passage of this Act concerning whom no record of admission for permanent residence exists or can be located may apply to the Commissioner of Immigration for legalization of his residence in the Philippines. The application shall be made in the form and manner prescribed by regulations issued by the Commissioner. Any alien in the Philippines, whose record of admission for permanent residence does not exist or cannot be located and who shall fail to legalize his residence in the Philippines as provided in this section, shall be presumed to be unlawfully within the Philippines." (23)

Section 15

SEC. 15. The special provisos of items (3) and (12) of paragraph (a) of section forty two of the same Act are hereby repealed.

Another item is hereby added to the same paragraph of the same section to read as follows:

"(13) Visa of alien crew list-------------------- P20.00" (24)

Section 16

SEC. 16. Subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of section forty-four of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(1) Fails to submit to the immigration officials at the port of arrival the crew lists, duly visaed, and passenger manifests and other information required by regulations issued under section thirty-two of this Act;" (25)

Paragraph (d) of section forty-four of the same Act is hereby made into a separate section to be designated as section 46-A to read as follows:

"SEC. 46-A. The pilot, master, agent, owner, consignee, or any person in charge of a vessel or aircraft which carries passenger into the Philippines from abroad, is prohibited from allowing the passengers to disembark therefrom, unless all the passengers thereof have been checked up by the Commissioner of Immigration or his authorized representatives. A violation of the provisions hereof shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand pesos and by an imprisonment of not more than six months. If the offender is the owner of the vessel or aircraft the fine imposed herein be five thousand pesos." (26)

The designation of paragraphs (e) and (f) of the same section is hereby changed to (d) and (e) respectively.(27)

Section 17

SEC 17. The same Act is amended by inserting between section 45 and section 46 thereof a new section, to be known as section forty-five-A which shall read as follows:

"SEC. 45-A. Persons duly served with subpoena or subpoena duces tecum and who fail to comply with the requirements thereof shall, after conviction, be imprisoned for not more than fifteen days or fined for not more than one hundred pesos, or both."

Section 18

SEC. 18. Section forty-eight of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 48. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to apply to an official of a recognized foreign government who is coming on the business of his government, nor to his family, attendants, servants, and employees, except that they shall be in possession of passports or other credentials showing their official status, duly visaed by Philippine diplomatic officials abroad, unless the President orders otherwise, and that their names shall appear on the passenger lists of transporting vessels required by section 32 of this Act, and further, that any alien admitted in the status of attendant, servant, or employee of a foreign government official who fails to maintain such status, shall be deported under the procedure prescribed by section 37 of this Act." (29)

Section 19

SEC. 19. Section 54 of the same Act is hereby repealed. (30)

Section 20

SEC. 20. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 12, 1950.