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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
DETERMINED to cleanse the Bureau
of Immigration (BI) of corrupt personnel, Commissioner Marcelino
Libanan on Tuesday took the first step by disbanding the
controversial immigration monitoring team assigned at the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport) that has been the object of complaints
for reportedly illegal activities.
In a memorandum, Libanan ordered
the disbandment of the NAIA-BI monitoring and enforcement unit (MEU)
and, in its place, established a migration compliance and monitoring
group (MCMG).
The MEU members were all
instructed to report their mother units, pending their reassignment
to other areas, including desk work at the airport’s immigration
counters.
According to Libanan, the MEU was
disbanded as an offshoot of complaints about the alleged involvement
of its members in facilitating the departure of undocumented
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their supposed connivance with
human trafficking syndicates.
Libanan stressed, “It is time
to stop the collusion between BI personnel and graft syndicates at
the airport as such unholy alliances are giving the country a bad
name not only in the eyes of our countrymen but the international
community as well.”
He cited a recent report that had
the Philippines in the list of countries where human trafficking is
rampant, adding that stopping the escort racket was one of the
marching orders he got from President Arroyo when he was named BI
chief.
To further deter corruption among
NAIA-BI personnel, Libanan also ordered that the assignment of
immigration officers at the airport counters be raffled or done by
rotation daily.
The raffle of assignments for
immigration officers to specific counters shall be conducted by the
duty supervisor who is under the control of the head of the MCMG or
his designated representative.
Further, Libanan ordered the
adoption of the “snake queue” scheme by duty supervisors in both
the arrival and departure areas to obviate any possible collusion
between passengers and immigration officers.
Immigration officers were also
banned from using their cellular phones, pagers and other means of
communications while on duty and those who are off-duty were banned
from loitering in the airport’s immigration areas.
Libanan justified the new
policies as necessary not only in curbing corruption but also in
improving the BI’s services at the NAIA amid the increasing volume
of passengers who arrive and depart daily.
Libanan said he foresees a sharp
increase in the number of passengers this year with the continuing
improvement of the economy and influx of tourists into the country.
Libanan said the MCMB, which is
directly under his supervision, will later be established in the
airports of Cebu, Davao, Subic, Laoag and other major ports.
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