Manila, Philippines - Malacañang stood its ground yesterday against granting overtime pay to Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, insisting they are just complying with a Supreme Court (SC) decision.
“The SC already issued a decision on this. We’re just following a Supreme Court order,” Secretary Edwin Lacierda, spokesman of President Aquino, told reporters in a chance interview at La Salle Greenhills, where a vigil for Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was held.
He also said that according to his discussion with Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado, the long queues at the immigration counters are but normal and due to the volume of arriving passengers, not the lack of personnel.
“It’s not because the BI personnel are slowing down their work. I think they are responsible enough to perform their jobs efficiently,” Lacierda said to set the record straight, claiming a “time and motion study” shows that it takes a person 15 seconds to settle the business.
At the same time, Lacierda stressed that the government is actually increasing the manpower of the immigration bureau, which is adopting a “shifting policy” to make it more efficient in terms of service.
“We are creating more jobs for other Filipinos to give more Filipinos the opportunity to have employment. BI personnel should not think it is a deprivation of their income, considering there is a mandated pay scale for them,” he said.
Last week, BI officers assigned at NAIA wore yellow armbands to protest the “unlawful” suspension of their overtime pay, hoping that their sentiments would reach President Aquino.
Senior immigration officer Floro Balato Jr. said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, in a July 31 memorandum to Aquino, recommended discontinuing the practice of customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) personnel charging airlines for their overtime pay.
On Aug. 3, Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II wrote the Board of Airline Representatives and the Airline Operators Council, advising them to stop paying overtime to CIQ personnel and report any violation of this policy.
Balato said their overtime pay is supported by the Philippine Immigration Act and the Tariff and Customs Code, and discontinuing their payment would only benefit airlines.
– With Rudy Santos