341 BI personnel at NAIA reshuffled

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 341 officers of the Bureau of Immigration at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were reshuffled yesterday to curb corruption among BI personnel.

BI Ports Operations Division chief Carlos Capulong said the officers do not include the 99 newly hired immigration inspectors who are still undergoing on-the-job training at the airport.

Capulong said after the recruits have finished their training, they would be deployed to major ports.

“This will be the last rotation of NAIA personnel this year as the next reshuffle will be implemented in the first quarter of 2022,” he said.

The rotation of BI personnel at the NAIA is part of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente’s effort to curb corruption among its personnel.

The BI will also reshuffle 77 immigration supervisors assigned at the NAIA.

Morente said they are fast-tracking the recruitment of around 200 BI officers, who would be deployed to the NAIA and other major ports next year.

“We anticipate that there would be more international travelers by early next year,” he said.

Morente underscored the need to field more immigration inspectors after the Department of Transportation said it was considering increasing the daily cap on passenger arrivals and reopening other airports to international travel.