18 December 2014 - The National Committee on Illegal Entrants (NCIE), which is chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through the Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA), held its annual consultation meeting at the Diamond Hotel on November 21.

The consultation meeting was presided over by DFA-OCA Assistant Secretary Wilfredo C. Santos, who concurrently serves as NCIE Chairman, and was attended by representatives of other DFA offices, and by representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). 

This year’s consultation meeting focused on updates on the current status of cases of illegal entry and fishing of foreign fishermen in Philippine territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as well as on garnering consensus among different agencies on means to facilitate the expeditious handling of cases of illegal entry in Philippine waters. 

The National Committee on Illegal Entrants was created by virtue of Executive Order 236, s. 1995. In it, the DFA serves as Chairman, with the DOJ, DND, and DILG as Co-Vice Chairmen. END