The different types of visa being issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had gained interest among foreigners and the general public as showed by the growing number of queries the agency receives through the Internet and the telephone, statistics showed Tuesday.

Rodolfo Gino, head of the BI national operations center, said there has been a steady increase in the number of electronic mail or email and telephone queries being received since the center was established three years ago.

The center, which was created after Commissioner Marcelino Libanan assumed office as BI chief in May 2007, is tasked with receiving queries from the public and monitoring the activities of the bureau in all the airports and subports nationwide.

It was established to give foreigners and the general public a mechanism to access information about the BI and send their queries, concerns and comments about immigration matters.

In his report to Libanan, Gino said his staff received a total of 1,259 email queries in January and February this year. (Jun Ramirez)