THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said it would beef up its personnel at different international airports across the country in anticipation of thousands of arriving and departing passengers during the Christmas holidays.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued an order directing 56 more immigration officers to report to their respective assignments starting this week.
The additional officers are deployed to help process the thousands of international passengers expected to arrive and leave the country in droves during the holiday break.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina earlier recommended the augmentation of immigration personnel assigned in various international airports in view of the reported increase in the number of passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and other airports in the past few days.
“We are actually expecting an upsurge of travelers entering the Philippines by around the second or third week of December as Christmas time approaches,” said Medina.
The deployment of more immigration personnel, according to Medina, is intended to prevent long lines both at the immigration arrival and departure areas, which is often a cause of concern for BI officials during the Christmas season.
Out of the 56 BI officers who were issued travel orders, 19 will be reporting to the Naia, while the 37 others were dispersed to the airports in Clark, Mactan, Kalibo and Davao.
The said immigration officers are presently assigned at the BI main office and in other immigration field and satellite offices nationwide. Medina pointed out that the reassignment of the 56 BI officers is only temporary and that they are expected to return to their original posts in the second week of January. “Our goal is to provide fast and smooth immigration inspection this Yuletide season,” Medina said.
“Our priority is the overseas Filipino workers who are here for Christmas. We are providing a more efficient service so that our kababayan will be able to spend more time with their families,” he added.
Morente, on the other hand, instructed BI officers to closely monitor immigration lines in all international airports as human traffickers and other syndicates might take advantage of the holiday rush to continue their illegal activities.