THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has started deploying close to a hundred personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to augment the agency's manpower this summer.
According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, a total of 99 newly recruited immigration officers will be reporting to their respective posts at the NAIA starting Tuesday, May 8.
"As a result of their deployment, these long queues of passengers at our immigration counters at the airport will be reduced, if not totally eliminated," Morente said.
BI port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas said fielding of more immigration officers would ensure that the BI has adequate manpower to serve travelers during the peak season.
Mariñas, however, advised passengers to be at the airport at least three hours before their flights to avoid inconvenience.
"We shall see to it that all our booths at the airport are manned by personnel who will conduct immigration formalities for arriving and departing passengers," he said.
Mariñas also said that aside from the 99 immigration officers, some 20 BI personnel were reassigned from the Kalibo international airport to either NAIA or Mactan Cebu International Airport in Cebu following the closure of the Boracay island. (VoxPop Philippines)
