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398 immigration officers at NAIA replaced in reshuffle, official says
A total of 398 Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have been replaced as part of a regular reshuffle at the agency, an official said.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Carlos Capulong said the latest reshuffle is part of BI’s moves to stop corruption in the agency.
Capulong said the BI officers who were replaced were in charge of primary inspection duties at NAIA. A total of 400 BI personnel were affected by the recent reshuffle.
The official said this was the second rotation of BI officers at NAIA this year. The first reshuffle was conducted in March.
Capulong said a reshuffle of officers is conducted to avoid “familiarization” among employees. He said that a reshuffle is also conducted daily for more than 80 immigration supervisors at the terminal.
In a 2020 Senate hearing, it was alleged that corrupt immigration officers had pocketed a total of P40 billion in bribe money. The hearing resulted in the suspension of 44 BI personnel for six months.
In March,
Expatmediahttps://www.expatmedia.net/9-dubai-bound-filipinos-offloaded-flight/2022/03/">9 Filipinos bound for Dubai were offloaded from their flight after failing to convince immigration officers of the reason for their travel. One of the travelers criticized immigration officers for allegedly showing unprofessional behaviour during the screening process.
As
Expatmedia.net previously reported, a group of Filipinos have taken to social media to call out what they said was “unfair” offloading of Filipino travelers, mostly Dubai-bound, by immigration officers at NAIA. Affected travelers said immigration officers were “playing God” in a non-transparent screening process.
BI, however, said offloaded travelers either have “inconsistencies” in their travel plan or don’t have enough supporting documents.
‘Right to travel is constitutional right’
Barney Almazar of the UAE-based legal consultancy firm Gulf Law, told
Expatmedia.net that balance must be established when implementing the screening process for Filipino travelers.
“The right to travel is a constitutional right which a citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law and only on clear and compelling grounds of national security, public health and public safety,” Almazar said.
ICA/Expat Media
ALSO READ: Offloading of Dubai-bound Filipinos at NAIA an infringement on right to travel
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