Deaths of foreigners residing in Philippines should be reported to BI — Morente

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday urged relatives and acquaintances of foreigners who have died to report their deaths to the agency.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente made the appeal so that the bureau can update its records and cancel the deceased aliens’ registration. The bureau said it has not received any report of deaths of foreign nationals since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Morente said the reporting of deceased aliens to the BI will help in the monitoring of foreigners in the country and crafting of policies to address potential threats to public safety and public health amid the pandemic.

This will also enable the BI to inform the concerned embassies of their deceased nationals, the agency said.

“Our bureau is mandated by law to monitor the arrival, presence, activities, departure, re-entry and even death of aliens, whether they are staying in the country legally or illegally,” said BI alien registration division chief Jose Carlitos Licas.

BI records show that as of January 2021, only 1,222 alien certificates of registration identity cards (ACR I-Card) were cancelled by reason of death. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News