The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has sternly warned its officers assigned at the international airports to strictly comply with a directive banning them from posting videos of themselves dancing or singing while they are on duty, and in uniform over the social networking site called Tiktok.
In a memorandum to all BI port personnel, Immigration Port Operations Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong said employees who defy the ban face administrative cases for insubordination and misconduct.
Capulong said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente has ordered him to investigate reports that some BI employees assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) continued to post videos on Tiktok which were taken while they were on duty and wearing their official uniform.
“I was instructed by Commissioner Morente to hold these errant employees liable by forwarding their cases to our Board of Discipline for investigation, and filing of the appropriate administrative cases,” Capulong added.
The BI personnel were also reminded to strictly observe the ban on the use of cellular phones and other electronic gadgets while on duty.
BI officers warned anew vs posting Tiktok videos of them in uniform
Capulong said the Tiktok videos of BI employees in uniform could not have been taken if the latter were not on duty at the time, thus it is obvious that they had their mobile phones and gadgets with them.
It was in December last year that Morente banned BI employees in uniform from posting on Tiktok, saying the act denigrates the Bureau as an institution, and unbecoming of government employees who should always conduct themselves with professionalism and integrity.
”Our policy on the wearing of the BI uniform is clear. As public servants, employees must proudly wear their uniform at all times, present a professional image to the public and observe proper decorum and good taste in all their actions while they are on duty,” Morente said in a memorandum.
He added that the Tiktok videos undermine the BI’s reputation and create a negative image for the agency’s personnel, especially its frontline immigration officers.
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