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The House Committee on Justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon approved on Monday a substitute bill which seeks to grant legal residency status to certain aliens in the Philippines under conditions.

The unnumbered bill, also known as the “Alien Social Integration Act”, substituted House Bill Nos. 6653 and 7624 authored by Deputy Speaker Arthur Yap and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr.

In his opening remarks, Leachon said the bill intends to control and regulate the admission and integration of foreign nationals in the Philippines.

Leachon, also an author of the bill, said the measure could address problems encountered by the Bureau of Immigration on aliens without proper documentation or are overstaying.

The bill provides that upon effectivity of the act, all aliens whose stay in the Philippines is otherwise illegal under existing laws and who have entered the country prior to June 30, 2016 shall be granted legal residence status upon compliance with the provisions of the act.

Likewise, they shall not be prosecuted for offenses which are inherent to illegal residence such as absence of valid travel document or visa.

The bar to prosecution shall apply only to such offenses committed due to acts necessary or essential to maintain a false, fraudulent or illegal residence, such as falsification of marriage, birth or baptismal certificates, travel documents, visas or alien certificates of registration.

The social integration of aliens covered under the act and the benefits therefrom shall be effective and enjoyed by such aliens upon completion of integration requirements, procedure and payment of fees as provided in the bill.

These include the filing of registration forms with the Civil Register, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Immigration (BI), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and commercial or universal banks where the alien shall pay the integration fees as provided in the act.

The applicant shall pay the integration fees to any duly license commercial or universal bank accredited by the BIR as authorized to receive income tax payments on the following amounts: a one-time payment of P250,000 for the principal applicant upon filing of the registration forms with the bank; and a single payment of P100,000 for the applicant’s spouse, and P50,000 for each legitimate child below 18 years of age.

Children born after June 30, 2016 of parents who received the benefits of the act shall, upon proper registration with the BI, become legal residents.

The integration fees paid by an alien shall be in lieu of all immigration fees and fines the applicant may have incurred during his or her unlawful residence in the country.

Another integration requirement is the submission of a medical certificate stating the applicant is not a user of prohibited drugs or otherwise a drug dependent and is not afflicted with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or any highly infectious disease.

The applicant shall submit a medical certificate stating that the applicant is mentally and psychologically healthy.

The BI shall issue an Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) to the applicant upon his/her presentation of the official receipt from the bank, together with a certification from the bank or agency concerned that the Civil Registrar, BIR and NBI received copies of the registration forms and the submission to the BI of the registration form as described in the act.

The legal residence granted under the act shall commence from the date the BI issues the ACR.

The BI shall publish, at the applicant’s cost, the names, ages, place of residence, and a photograph of each of the applicants in a newspaper of general circulation at the end of each calendar month during the application period as provided in the act.

It shall be the duty of the Civil Registrar, BIR and NBI to ensure that the applicant is covered under the act and that the applicant is not charged or found guilty of any other offense other than that inherent to illegal residence.

The benefits provided in the act can be availed of within two years from its effectivity.

The measure stated that aliens granted legal residence under the act shall be eligible to apply for naturalization after five years from the approval of the application.

The BI shall submit to the chairpersons of the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, with copies furnished to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a written report on the developments in the implementation of the act every six months from the effectivity of the act for the purpose of oversight functions. DMS