MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration on Friday said they will deploy new immigration officers to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to augment the workforce at the country’s main gateway.
BI Port Operations chief Carlos Capulong said 99 new immigration officers are undergoing training prior to their full deployment and have started reported to the three terminals of NAIA last week.
Related Stories
Capulong also reported to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente that the new immigration inspectors will be rotated in their shift assignments every week so they can learn their duties as border control officers of the country.
He added that the BI is preparing early for the eventuality reopening of the country’s borders.
“We believe that as more and more Filipinos are vaccinated, this pandemic will soon be a thing of the past and there will be an influx of international travelers into our country,” Capulong said.
The newly assigned immigration officers will be responsible for barring entry of undesirable aliens or foreign nationals. They will also be tasked to ensure that Filipinos are not victimized by human traffickers who will recruit and attempt to send them abroad, the BI said.
The new batch of BI recruits has completed their three-month training on immigration laws, rules and procedures. Another batch of immigration officers are expected to graduate before the year ends, the bureau also said.
The Philippine government has restricted travel to the country amid the pandemic and threat of the more contagious Delta variant. Foreign tourists are currently banned from going to the country, and entry of travelers from ten countries have also been placed until September 5. — Kristine Joy Patag