(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration’s offices in the NCR Plus area will continue to operate with a skeleton workforce.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the bureau’s main bldg. In Intramuros, Manila and its satellite and extension offices in Metro Manila, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, and Cavite will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Morente said the downsizing of the bureau’s operations in those areas was in compliance with the resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), placing the NCR Plus area bubble under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions.
Under the resolution, all government offices in those areas shall maintain a skeleton workforce of up to a maximum of 50 percent of their operational capacity.
Morente said as a result, only those who have registered and secured slots via the bureau’s online appointment system can transact business in the bureau’s main building.
“We appeal to our clientele to bear with us as this appointment scheme is necessary to ensure strict social distancing and protect everyone from getting infected with the virus,” he said.
Carlos Capulong, bureau port operations chief, said the bureau is nevertheless operating at full capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
He said that while there were fewer international flights now due to the ban on the entry of travelers from seven countries, a gradual increase in these flights in the next few months is possible as the country slowly reopens its borders.
He said international flight operations could begin returning to normal before the year ends.
