Time to stop ‘escort’ modus in airports, says Immigration bureau
NAIA TERMINAL 3 Passengers bound for Japan on the first day of resumption of operation for international flights of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay city on July 8, 2020, after three months of temporary closure due to travel restrictions caused by coronavirus disease pandemic. (INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD A. REYES)
MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) will crack down on the so-called “escort” modus in airports.
The scheme involves immigration officers escorting individuals with anomalous documents so that their passage and departure from the airports are easily facilitated.
“This is not an overnight problem,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
“However, we are making substantial progress in tackling corruption, holding guilty employees accountable, and deterring others from straying,” he added.
The bureau is also enforcing a one-strike policy in which personnel found to be involved in an anomaly will be immediately removed, pending charges to be filed against them.
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