BY JUN RAMIREZ
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has placed its personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and in other international ports under heightened alert status in anticipation of a large influx of passengers during the Lenten break.
“We are bracing for a surge in the volume of passenger who are expected to travel in and out of the country during the Holy Week, thus we have to alert our border control officers for any eventuality that may arise during this period,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.
The BI chief said they also fielded more than a hundred additional immigration officers to the NAIA to augment the number of manpower manning the immigration booths in the arrival and departure areas.
“This will ensure that our services to the traveling public are not interrupted even if there is a sharp increase in passenger volume," he added.
Tansingco said he instructed the bureau’s terminal heads in the airports to implement stricter measures in screening passengers and deter any attempts by human trafficking syndicates to take advantage of the occasion in spiriting their victims out of the country.
BI port personnel were also ordered to be vigilant in screening arriving foreigners to make sure that no unwanted aliens are able to slip into the country.
The BI’s electronic gates are fully operational at the NAIA which allows digital processing of arrivals for as fast as eight seconds per passenger.
The BI foresees a far bigger number of travelers who will enter and exit the country during this year’s Lenten break in light of the country’s reopening of its borders after the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Statistics show that passenger arrivals at airports now averages between 30,000 to 32,000 daily, compared to only 6,000 last year.
The number is expected to increase to around 40,000 during on Maundy Thursday onwards.
