12 minutes

MANILA, Philippines - This is in reply to the brief item that appeared in the Philippine STAR column of Mr. Jarius Bondoc, Gotcha.

Per the incident report of our Airport Operations Division — NAIA Terminal II (Centennial Terminal) Head Supervisor, Ms. Judith F. Ferrera, we would like to put on record that there was an adequate number of Immigration officers on duty last Saturday, April 9, 2011. As a matter of procedure, the ground personnel of Philippine Airlines (PAL) advise the Immigration Office regarding the wing to which the arriving flights would be serviced.

On April 9, 2011, prior to the arrival of flight PR319 from Hong Kong, PAL personnel advised Immigration of such arrival through the APEX Wing. The Immigration officers on duty were already in position to clear passengers for arrival in the APEX counters. Likewise at the exact time of arrival, PAL Paging Section announced the disembarkation at the APEX Wing. By the time passengers made it to the Immigration Area, the supervisor on duty was surprised to see passengers alighting down the stairs at the PVH Wing. Immediately, the Immigration officers transferred to the counters at the other wing.

The concerned passenger who reported a complaint of an alleged 30-minute wait prior to the arrival of the Immigration officers was processed and cleared for admission at exactly 1542H. This has been verified by the log in the Border Control Information System, as reported by our Computer Section. From the 1530H arrival time, it took only 12 minutes for the concerned passenger to disembark the boarding gates, walk to the Immigration Area and be processed by the Immigration officer on duty.

We hope to have clarified the matter. Rest assured that we maintain a strong sense of duty and discipline amongst our officers and deliver services conforming to the highest standards of excellence.