Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David and executive director Eric Dimaculangan were present during the recent turnover ceremony of the new immigration card from AOC president Maria Lourdes San Juan.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) issues 30,000 copies of the cards daily. For the last 10 years, the AOC has been printing and distributing the cards for free to all Philippine outbound and inbound passengers, including major airports outside Manila.

The Philippines used up about 18 million copies of the cards a year, with the Philippine Airlines being the biggest user of about 5 million copies, followed by Cebu Pacific with 3 million copies.

The remaining 10 million cards are used by the 30-member AOC.

AOC said they are funding the P20 million worth of cards annually to support the bureau’s effort to maximize its budget.

David welcomed the AOC support, and said the bureau will continue the partnership with the group through its sponsor Smart Communications.

“This is a good step with both public [BI] and private [AOC] partnership working together to improve the image of the bureau through the introduction of the new and improved immigration card” David added.