{"id":21369,"date":"2026-09-16T14:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=21369"},"modified":"2026-09-16T15:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T07:35:30","slug":"modernization-no-longer-an-option-but-a-necessity-doj-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/modernization-no-longer-an-option-but-a-necessity-doj-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"MODERNIZATION NO LONGER AN OPTION BUT A NECESSITY \u2013 DOJ CHIEF"},"content":{"rendered":"

AS criminal networks grow more sophisticated and borderless, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick A. Vida has called for the modernization of the border security.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vida said modernization of the country\u2019s border security is no longer an option but an urgent necessity. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCriminal networks do not respect territorial boundaries; our response therefore must equally be sophisticated, coordinated and forward-looking,\u201d he said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cModernization is no longer an option. It is an imperative,\u201d he reiterated during the Bureau of Immigration\u2019s (BI) 86th anniversary celebration on September 11. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The DOJ head highlighted the growing complexity of threats facing the country\u2019s borders, including transnational organized crime, human tra<\/strong>\ufb03<\/strong>cking, terrorism, illegal recruitment, document fraud, identity theft, and other forms of cross-border criminality. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As an attached agency of the DOJ, the BI continues to advance reforms aligned with the administration\u2019s digital transformation agenda and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.\u2019s directive to accelerate the digitization and modernization of government operations. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Border management, he said, must keep pace with emerging threats while ensuring that legitimate travelers continue to experience e<\/strong>\ufb03<\/strong>cient and secure immigration processes. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado also highlighted the Bureau’s and its personnel’s accomplishments, saying they should serve as a foundation for further reforms. <\/strong><\/p>\n

He emphasized the need for the BI to continuously evolve through technology, digitalization, stronger border intelligence, and more e<\/strong>\ufb03<\/strong>cient immigration processes. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe journey ahead has already begun but the road ahead will require more than accomplishments. It will require us to remain focused on our mission while constantly looking toward the Bureau we aspire to become,\u201d Viado said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

He also described modernization as a lasting legacy that present-day BI personnel can build for an institution that has served the country for 86 years. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cModernization is a legacy we can commit to an institution that has existed for 86 years,\u201d he said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The BI\u2019s 86th anniversary underscored its continuing transformation into a modern border management institution\u2014one that facilitates legitimate travel while strengthening its fundamental mandate to protect the country\u2019s borders and national security. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It may be recalled that Viado, during a recent House of Representatives hearing on the proposed 2027 budget of the DOJ and its attached agencies, said modernization is a necessary step to modernize border control. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A P10.74-billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project proposal is currently being reviewed by the Department of Finance (DOF), the O<\/strong>\ufb03<\/strong>ce of the Solicitor General (OSG), and the PPP Center.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposal, under a Build-Train-Maintain-Transfer scheme, aims to install an integrated border security platform across 11 airports and borders to combat human tra<\/strong>\ufb03<\/strong>cking, smuggling, terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, and organized crime. <\/strong><\/p>\n

With regular system upgrades every 4 years over the next 20-year period\u2014at no cost to the government.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AS criminal networks grow more sophisticated and borderless, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick A. Vida has called for the modernization of the border security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida.jpg",1072,908,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-300x254.jpg",300,254,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-768x651.jpg",640,543,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-1024x867.jpg",640,542,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida.jpg",1072,908,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida.jpg",1072,908,false],"kreeti-slider-full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-1072x720.jpg",1072,720,true],"kreeti-featured":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-1024x867.jpg",1024,867,true],"kreeti-medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-720x530.jpg",720,530,true],"kreeti-medium-square":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/doj-vida-350x350.jpg",350,350,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"National<\/a>","tag_info":"National","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21371,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369\/revisions\/21371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}