Dumaguete BI is always "kind" enough to inform me when my Tourist ACR card has expired and they "conveniently" add the cost onto my Visa Renewal. I was shocked to find out it has gone up quite a bit this year because the US dollar is worth more and other country's dollars are worth less. So US$50 plus 500 pesos (which is the cost of the tourist ACR card) now costs me the equivalent of $85 Canadian. I wonder why they link the cost of the ACR card to the US $ End of rant.
Apart from the raise in price, even when you paid for that ACR, next is to get it. Since 2010 I already did not get 2 cards. Asking politely @IM into the whereabouts just the look on the faces is enough you already regretted it to do so. In other words, you just pay, keep your mouth shut, or else.............??!!
Because all of the equipment, machines and blank cards were provided by the US Government for free initially in exchange they kindly give everyone's info to the US government to fight terrorism. Unfortunately, they have to pay for maintenance, salaries and replacement cards/parts from the same contractor the US Government uses and pay in USD. Hence the high cost. At least that's what I read in the papers when they first came out some 7 years ago or so.
