BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco observes operations at immigration counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday (April 5, 2023). (Photo courtesy of BI)
MANILA – Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Thursday that their operations at airports are so far going on smoothly.
He reported that more than 40,000 departures were recorded on Wednesday while almost 35,000 passengers arrived in the country on the same day.
The BI chief also reminded terminal heads to closely monitor queues to ensure efficient processing of passengers, when he conducted an inspection of the operations of the BI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
Earlier, the Bureau said it will be fielding 155 immigration officers as augmentation for the Holy Week.
The BI would also deploy 36 new immigration officers who recently concluded their training at the Philippine Immigration Academy.
At the same time, Tansingco vowed to improve the services of frontline personnel.
“We have recently conducted a training for supervisors to strengthen their capacities in handling concerns and issues encountered during their tour of duty. I have instructed our frontliners to conduct our mandate with efficiency and professionalism,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BI has ordered an investigation regarding viral complaints on social media application Tiktok on Thursday.
Tansingco also required the immigration officers involved to submit their reports to his office.
Reports said a 28-year-old female passenger filed a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman against a male immigration officer for allegedly conducting lengthy interviews which caused her to miss her flight.
Upon verification with the BI’s system, it was confirmed that she presented herself for primary inspection only 23 minutes before the closing of the boarding gate, and was expeditiously processed by the immigration officer before being allowed to depart.
Likewise, the agency addressed the post of a Filipina who claimed that she was barred from leaving because of her active United Arab Emirates (UAE) visa.
Tansingco said upon verification of her travel records, it was found out that she previously left as a tourist but ended up working in the Arab region without the required documentation, and her current trip presented a similar travel pattern, together with another person.
The agency also said they have reason to suspect that she might be recruiting Filipinos to Abu Dhabi.
“This is an investigation we will be pursuing, having found posts of her recruiting for work abroad. We are looking into referring the matter to other government agencies that might look into the alleged recruitment scheme,” he added.
It also addressed reports of an employee who allegedly attempted to extort money from a male seafarer who wanted to travel to Paris under doubtful circumstances.
While the act was not consummated, the BI said that they are investigating the incident and are waiting for the formal complaint from the seafarer.
Tansingco noted that only a small number of passengers undergo secondary inspection.
“Only around 0.6 percent of departing passengers are stopped, mainly because of a mismatch of their documents and their purpose of travel, or they have been found to have indications of being victims of human trafficking or illegal recruitment,” he said.
“Regular tourists need not worry when they are traveling abroad,” he added. (PNA)
