Long lines at NAIA immigration to be reduced as 37 immigration officers deployed

June 13, 2017

Long lines at the Bureau of Immigration counters of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will likely be reduced as 37 newly-hired immigration officers were deployed. In a statement Tuesday, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the new employees started reporting to the three terminals of the NAIA last week. They were deployed to the NAIA right after finishing training on immigration laws, rules and procedures. ​Long passenger lines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s immigration counters became a controversial in recent months as some immigration officers resigned or went on indefinite leave after their overtime pay from the express lane fund of the bureau was stopped. ​This forced the immigration bureau management to reassign to NAIA immigration employees in its main office in Manila and other field offices in the provinces. The queues have minimized in recent days, as fewer immigration officers have been skipping work since the Palace assured that steps will be undertaken to upgrade the take home pay of BI employees. Morente said lack of manpower at the NAIA and other airports will soon be addressed with the impending recruitment of more than 200 new immigration officers within the next two months. “We have started the process of selecting these new personnel by administering written tests and interviewing thousands of applicants who hail from different places, including the Visayas and Mindanao,” he said. DMS