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Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. thinks that the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) offloading policy is a flagrant violation of the right to travel that is granted by the Constitution and may even be a violation of the Court’s authority to issue Hold Departure Orders (HDO) upon justification.

Napaka-absurd yata na yung nakagawa ng krimen, basta walang HDO makakaalis, but yung mga ordinaryong Pilipino na gusto lang makaranas ng bakasyon sa ibang bansa, basta-basta naman iniipit at hindi pinaaalis. It is ludicrous that criminals without HDO can travel yet regular Filipinos who simply wish to have a holiday overseas are under pressure and unable to do so. That already goes above the call of duty, Revilla said in a statement on Tuesday.

This happened in response to a viral video that went viral on social media, in which a Filipino traveller to Israel detailed her interactions with an immigration officer, noting “irrelevant” questions that went as far as requiring her to show her yearbook.

Despite arriving at the airport eight hours prior to her flight’s planned departure time, this resulted in the traveler missing her flight.

Revilla claims that his office has been inundated with complaints and concerns about the prevalence of arbitrary unloading at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and was already looking into the issue when it surfaced.

“Since last year, I’ve been tiniting about it, and I’m also at pumutok. Congressman Bryan Revilla’s misguided kaibigan, which we have been digging into since last year, has finally gone viral. Notwithstanding our discussion with BI, a friend of Congressman Bryan Revilla who was scheduled to travel to Singapore was twice offloaded, the congressman revealed.

Iba raw yung nasa legal at head office nila sa mga nasa airport, ang katwiran ng BI. There is no control at the many NASA airports. ‘Yun tam ba ‘? (The BI indicated that people who are at the legal and head office are different from the personnel in the airport. They assert that they have no authority over those who are present at the airport. (Is that accurate?)

Senator Grace Poe questioned BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco about the same event before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee wrapped up its investigation into the alleged human trafficking in NAIA.

“It is known that there are some “overly passionate” immigration officers who ask which documents are the most important and which ones should be ignored. Ewan ko kung yung Immigration Officer na yun napagtripan lang yung isang pasahero kaya hiningan ng (We are aware of complaints that claim that our Immigration Officers are “overly excited” and demand excessive amounts of paperwork. I’m not sure if the immigration officer was joking when he requested the passenger’s yearbook or diploma pictures. Absurd, “Tansingco heard from Poe. “I am aware that you have already briefed them and informed them of the potential supporting documentation. Although we’re attempting to prevent it, this is obviously pointless. Have you given your immigration officers a briefing, Sir?”

Tansingco noted that the concerned Immigration Officer (IO) had denied asking the passenger for a yearbook. “Following learning of information on the specific event, I immediately called the concerned IO and transferred him directly from the airport to our office in SM North Edsa,” Tansingco stated.

Poe requested CCTV evidence of the event, but Tansingco refused, claiming that BI CCTV material only lasts 30 days and that retrieving it would be challenging given that the incident occurred on December 22 of last year.

He claimed that as a result of the incident, the BI is currently undergoing reform.

“Beginning today, we are retraining our supervisors, and while at the airport, we will also be doing pocket trainings. Also, we are examining our immigration officers’ work schedules to ensure that our counters are fully staffed during peak hours “added the BI director.

Tansingco also informed the committee that, in order to increase manpower, he has asked that a few regular BI workers be classified as acting IOs.

He stated that due to the anticipated increase in traveller flow during Holy Week, IOs posted to the BI Main Office would also be asked to perform airport responsibilities.

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