The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported smooth and unhampered operations during the Holy Week.
According to lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division Chief, they saw a slight rise in arriving passengers during Good Friday and Black Saturday.
“There were a total of 13,783 passengers who arrived on Friday, while a total of 15,234 arrived on Saturday,” shared Capulong. “There was a slight rise from the usual 11-12k average arrivals we’ve seen in the past few days,” he added.
Capulong meanwhile said that their immigration officers processed an average of around 12k departing passengers the past week.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente earlier placed frontline immigration officers on high alert following the anticipated increase in travelers during the Holy Week.
BI reports no rise in arriving passengers on Maundy Thursday
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has reported that there was no significant rise in the number of arriving passengers on Maundy Thursday.
According to Atty. Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division Chief, they saw a nationwide total of 12,464 arrivals on Thursday, similar to the average arrivals of around 12,000 passengers per day for the month of April.
“Prior to the pandemic, there would usually be high numbers during the Holy Week,” said Capulong. “This year, we saw a rise in numbers, but it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels,” he stated.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente remained hopeful that the number of international travelers will increase soon.
“The numbers have already doubled since we opened our borders to fully vaccinated foreign nationals,” said Morente. “While we are not yet expecting and experiencing pre-pandemic figures, we are hopeful that the confidence in international travel will return as we enter into the new normal,” he added.
Meanwhile, BI arrested a German national wanted in his country for fraud, on holy week.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the alien as 47-year-old Alexander Herr, who also uses the alias Kai Michael Konig.
Herr attempted to extend his visa at the BI’s Makati office after arriving last March 19.