No Lenten break leaves for BI workers

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it has prohibited its port personnel from going on leave for three weeks, to ensure that adequate officers are available to serve the traveling the public before, during and after the Holy Week break.

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said ban on leave, which starts on March 24 and ends on April 15, applies to BI employees assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and all the other international ports nationwide.

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Tansingco said that during the said period all applications for vacation leaves, and applications for authority to travel abroad by any BI employee assigned at the ports will not be entertained nor approved.

“We are constrained to implement this leave ban to make sure that our service to the traveling public is not interrupted or compromised during the Lenten break, when there will surely be a sharp upsurge in the number of passengers who will enter and exit the country,” the BI chief stressed.

He added that the influx of international passengers is not only expected at the NAIA but in the other major ports such as Mactan, Clark and Kalibo.

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No Lenten break leaves for BI workers

“We have to see to it that our immigration booths at the airports are fully manned, in order to cope with the long queues of passengers who will be arriving from or leaving for abroad to spend time with their families and relatives,” Tansingco said.

Statistics show that since the Philippines reopened its borders to foreigners in March last year, the combined volume of international passengers who arrive and depart from the country is now averaging more than 30,000 daily, compared to only about 6,000 to 9,000 daily in March 2022.

The Philippines, like all other countries globally, experienced a serious drop in international travel volume when the pandemic struck in March 2020.

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Palm Sunday through Black Saturday, followed by Easter Sunday, make up Semana Santa (Holy Week). In the Philippines, it is customarily a solemn occasion, a time for serious atonement. During Holy Week, many people fulfill vows they made when they prayed to God for a favor, such as a recovery from an illness.

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