BACOLOD CITY, (PNA) — Preparations for the installation of the components for the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) system at the Bacolod-Silay Airport are underway.
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Evelio Leonardia said he was informed by Bureau of Immigration Officer-in-Charge that a team will soon be deployed here to start the work on the immigration component.
The CIQ system needs to be installed to enable the Bacolod-Silay Airport to accommodate international flights.Leonardia, who will meet with Mison again shortly, said he has volunteered the assistance of his congressional staff in the groundwork to fast-track the process.
The customs and quarantine components will follow, the legislator said, as he has already endorsed the appeal to Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon to deploy customs monitors at the airport.
“With the CIQ in place, we can finally say that the Bacolod-Silay airport is ready for international flights,” Leonardia said.
Expected to start in December are 17 direct flights from Incheon, Korea.
Former Bacolod congressman and city administrator John Orola had joined Leonardia during his meeting with Mison who informed them that the CIQ system will be in place in time for the flights from Korea.
Orola, in his letter to Cabinet Secretary Jose Almendras and Mison last June, requested for the immediate procurement and installation of the passport reader equipment, assignment of immigration personnel, and the preparation of the arrival/departure and physical facilities of the airport.