The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has banned its personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from going on vacation leave until the end of the month, to maximize its personnel assigned at the premiere port.
Atty. Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division (POD) Chief, issued a directive extending up to January 31, the period within which immigration personnel at the NAIA are banned from taking vacation leaves.
The said ban, which started last December 16 before the 2021 Christmas holiday break, was supposed to expire last January 15.
Capulong said the ban on filing vacation leaves was extended for two more weeks as the number of BI officers at the airport afflicted with Covid-19 soared in the past few days.
He stressed the directive was necessary to ensure unhampered airport operations by the BI, amidst the increasing number of personnel who tested positive for the virus or are in quarantine.
“No application for leave during this period will be entertained or approved, and all filed leaves are hereby cancelled to ensure that we have enough personnel to service the traveling public,” Capulong added.
BI-NAIA men banned from going on leave as Covid cases rise
It was reported that as of Monday, a total of 138 BI-POD personnel have tested positive for the virus. An additional 129 employees remain on quarantine while waiting for the results of their swab tests. On the other hand, 99 other personnel tested negative and have already returned to work.
Last week, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente issued an advisory downgrading its office operations to 30% worksite capacity due to the spike in Covid-19 infections in its offices.
The BI said that the reduced workforce will be implemented until January 22.
The move, according to Morente, is in response to the spike in Covid-19 infections plaguing BI offices.
The BI earlier reported a whopping 251 active cases amongst its personnel. Of said number, 135 are assigned at the airport, 91 at the BI’s office in Intramuros, while 25 come from other BI offices.
The BI also reported that a total of 269 of their airport personnel are quarantined and awaiting results of their Covid-19 testing.
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