(Eagle News)–No Bureau of Immigration personnel assigned in selected ports nationwide can go on leave starting next month.
Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said the ban on the filing of applications for vacation leave will take effect on Dec. 1 and end on Jan. 15, 2021.
Candy Tan, bureau port operations division chief, said during the 45-day period, no application for leave or authority to travel abroad by any of the bureau port employees will be entertained or approved.
She said the leave prohibition applies to all immigration personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the airports in Mactan Cebu and Clark, Pampanga, Kalibo, Iloilo, Davao, Laoag and the Zamboanga international seaport.
“We have to make sure that our immigration booths at the airports are adequately manned in anticipation of an increase in the number of international travelers who will enter and exit the country during that period,” Morente said.
He, however, noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the bureau expects only a slight to moderate rise in the number of passengers who will depart or arrive from abroad.
He said many countries worldwide, including the Philippines, have not yet lifted the travel restrictions that were imposed after the pandemic started last March.
“Thus, we are confident that the number of immigration officers currently deployed at the ports are enough to facilitate the efficient conduct of immigration formalities for arriving and departing passengers,” Morente said.