THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday assured travelers of uninterrupted service despite the reduction of manpower at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals and other ports due to a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the country.
Commissioner Jaime Morente said BI personnel will continue to serve the public to ensure a hassle-free service.
“There will be no diminution in the duty days of our port personnel as we are duty-bound to ensure that all international travelers who enter and exit our borders get the most efficient and hassle-free immigration service from our officers,” he said in a statement.
At the same time, the BI chief directed lawyer Carlos Capulong, acting port operations division (POD) chief, to maintain the present work scheme and schedule of immigration personnel assigned at the airports.
“In the past several weeks we have seen a steady increase in the volume of international passengers entering and exiting our airports, thus it would only be prudent to keep our current manpower to ensure smooth and seamless service to the traveling public,” he added.
At the same time, Morente reminded all BI port personnel to strictly follow prescribed health protocols and wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while on duty in order to protect themselves against the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Earlier, the BI announced that it will be observing a 60 percent on-site work capacity from January 3 to 15 at its main building in Intramuros, Manila, and other satellite, field, and extension offices in the metropolis.
The move was in compliance with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF)'s decision to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under Alert Level 3. (Ferdinand Patinio)
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