By Ferdinand G. Patinio
MANILA, Nov. 27 (PNA) — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has reminded the public, particularly those with namesake, to secure a Certificate of Not the Same Person (NTSP) so as not to create inconvenience to travelers with a derogatory match in their database.
According to Commissioner Siegfred Mison it is important for a person to obtain such certificate to spare him/her the trouble of being inspected and verified.
“It may cause a bit of inconvenience to those with the same name as them, that’s why we suggest that travelers with namesakes secure such document for faster inspection every time they travel,” he said in a statement.
Mison explained that NTSP is a documentary proof that a person is not the same person as the one reflected in BI’s derogatory database.
“We cannot just delete the names in our derogatory database because it would allow the actual person with the hit to freely enter and exit the country,” he added.
The certificate may be secured at the Bureau of Immigration Main Office and is issued by the Certificate and Compliance Section.
“Many people have common names, there are for example, a lot of Juan Dela Cruz in the country. Instead of checking and verifying with all stakeholders, the NTSP would, at one glance, immediately tell us that this Juan Dela Cruz is not the one in our record, thus making processing faster,” he explained.
The BI chief’s statement was issued after a post in social media questioning the necessity of the document and also attributed the certificate as part of illegal schemes at the airport. (PNA)
But what if I lost my old ntsp? Can you issue me a new one when I go to the BI office? I only hav 11 days here in Philippines last time I took the ntsp it took me almost a week to get it.