the Bureau of Immigration (BI) addressed viral complaints on the social media application Tiktok on Thursday.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco shared that he has ordered an investigation on the said incidents and required the immigration officers involved to submit their reports to his office.
Initially aired on a news program, a 28 year old female passenger allegedly submitted a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman against a male immigration officer for allegedly conducting lengthy interviews which caused her to miss her flight.
Upon verification with the BI’s system, it was confirmed that she presented herself for primary inspection only 23 minutes before the closing of the boarding gate, and was expeditiously processed by the immigration officer before being allowed to depart.
The BI also addressed the post of a Filipina who claimed that she was barred from leaving because of her active United Arab Emirates (UAE) visa.
BI addresses viral Tiktok complaints
Tansingco shared that upon verification of her travel records, it was found out that she previously left as a tourist but ended up working in the Arab region without the required documentation, and her current trip presented a similar travel pattern, together with another person.
The agency also said that they have reason to suspect that she might be recruiting Filipinos to Abu Dhabi. “This is an investigation we will be pursuing, having found posts of her recruiting for work abroad. We are looking into referring the matter to other government agencies that might look into the alleged recruitment scheme,” he stated.
The BI also addressed reports of an employee who allegedly attempted to extort money from a male seafarer who wanted to travel to Paris under doubtful circumstances.
While the act was not consummated, the BI said that they are investigating the incident and are waiting for the formal complaint from the seafarer.
Tansingco clarified that only a small number of passengers undergo secondary inspection. “Only around 0.6% of departing passengers are stopped, mainly because of a mismatch of their documents and their purpose of travel, or they have been found to have indications of being victims of human trafficking or illegal recruitment,” said Tansingco. “Regular tourists need not worry when they are traveling abroad,” he assured.
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