Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel employees assigned in different ports nationwide were not allowed to avail of Christmas leave to serve the public during the holiday season.
Below is the full statement of BI posted on their Facebook page:
Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel assigned the different international airports nationwide have been prohibited from going on leave starting next month to ensure that sufficient number of immigration officers are on duty to serve the traveling public during the upcoming Christmas holiday season.
According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, the ban on filing of applications for vacation leave by BI port personnel will take effect on Dec. 1 and end on Jan. 15, 2021.
“We have to make sure that our immigration booths at the airports are adequately manned in anticipation of an increase in the number of international travelers who will enter and exit the country during that period,” Morente said.
He, however, said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the BI expects only a slight to moderate rise in the number of passengers who will depart or arrive from abroad.
No Christmas leave for BI port personnel
The BI chief noted that many countries worldwide, including the Philippines, have not yet lifted the travel restrictions that were imposed after the pandemic started last March.
“Thus, we are confident that the number of immigration officers currently deployed at the ports are enough to facilitate the efficient conduct of immigration formalities for arriving and departing passengers,” Morente added.
According to Atty. Candy Tan, BI port operations division chief, the leave prohibition applies to all immigration personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as well as the airports in Mactan Cebu and Clark, Pampanga, Kalibo, Iloilo, Davao, Laoag and the Zamboanga international seaport.
Tan said that during the 45-day period, no application for leave or authority to travel abroad by any of the said BI port employees will be entertained or approved.
She also disclosed that she has already designated several immigration officers detailed as office administrative staff to be on call and ready to perform supervisory and primary counter duties should the need arise.