Whether for leisure, business, or study, through the years, Cebu has always been a top destination for people from around the world.

The Bureau of Immigration is driven by its mission "to control and regulate the movements of persons to, from, and within our country (the Philippines) in contributing to national development". Since the time he was elected as the new Alien Control Officer in November 2016, Mr. Decampong, along with the entire team, has been working together, focusing on key areas, such as personnel management and enhancement, transparency, and infrastructure development. Mr. Decampong has also continually worked on elevating the efficiency of Cebu District Office's service and thus, he was awarded the Best Alien Control Officer 2017.

Cebu’s Tourism Industry

With Cebu boasting its world-renowned stretches of white sand beaches and not to mention, its abundance of pristine diving spots, the current Alien Control Officer of the Bureau of Immigration Cebu, Mr. Decampong, delightedly shared how well Cebu has been consistently drawing in tourists. "Cebu is considered the center of tourist destinations in the country and our number of tourists increases every year." And with the teeming number of ESL (English as a Second Language) schools in Cebu and Mactan, it's no wonder why the TVE (Tourist Visa Extension) and SSP (Special Study Permit) have been the Bureau of Immigration Cebu's consistent top two transactions, from January - December 2016 and January - October 2017. These are then followed by Sec 9f (Student Visa), SWP (Special Work Permit), and PWP (Provisionary Work Permit) consecutively. He added "you can see a lot of Japanese and Korean restaurants everywhere and I think a lot of [ESL] students are enjoying that."

Welcoming Foreign Visitors

In 2016 and 2017, Japan ranked number two, next to Korea, in the Top Registered Foreign Nationals, followed by the United States of America, Taiwan, and China. And it ranked number one in the Top Registered Foreign Students (SSP), followed by Korea, the United States of America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. "There is so much to love about Cebu - the places, the food, and the people. We will do our best to bring convenience to our visitors because the boost in tourism will definitely bring around a boost in the economy" shared Mr. Decampong.