Overseas Filipinos in the UAE state that the seemingly unapproachable and unkind behavior of personnel at the Bureau of Immigration, as well as the problems on offloading are amongst their top concerns that they wish the new chief to address.
In a straw poll conducted by The Filipino Times, majority of OFWs hope that concerns such as offloading, red tape, human trafficking, and the behavior of Immigration personnel be tackled extensively by the new administration.
As of September 12, President Bongbong Marcos has appointed Norman Garcera Tansingco as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration.
OFWs wish that personnel at the Immigration be more friendly to their kababayans especially for relatives of OFWs who only wish to travel overseas to be with their loved ones.
“Yung mga taga-Immigration akala mo kayang kaya kaming lamunin nang buong buo kase sila yung NASA posisyon. Kung tratuhin kaming mga OFW is mga paswelduhan nila,” said Joann Mendoza.
Adrian Tabique said that those welcoming back OFWs are pleasant, but those at the frontlines for Filipinos travelling abroad need to reassess their behavior.
“Ok ang mga pauli. (pauwi) Pero pag pagaws (paalis) ka mga sungit kaayo (masyado) officer pilde (parang) pang maestra sa kinder,” said Tabique.
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OFWs also raised issues on offloading – especially for their relatives who only wish is to travel overseas to meet them temporarily. Offloading at the Immigration makes OFWs spend more especially if they have to rebook their tickets, or worse, if they have to book a new flight altogether.
“Malaki din ang gastos lalo pa ang ibang ticket non rebookable,” said Aleth Torres.
Some netizens even went so far as to allege corruption within the said agency.
“Madami diyan gusto pagka-perahan nila ung mga lalabas ng pinas especially mga tourist visa. Kahit super kumpleto na ang mga documents at ang laki ng gastos bago mo makumpleto mga kelangan mo. Tapos ma-uuwi lang sa OFFLOAD. Kaawa awa mga nabibiktima nila. Ito ang dapat talagang tutukan ng gobyerno,” said Lorna Gordora.
Tansingco, the new BI chief, has been working in the department for over a decade now and became the chief of staff of former commissioner Marcelino Libanan. He is a certified public accountant and passed the bar exams in 1991.
READ ON: Immigration offloads 7 UAE-bound Filipinas suspected as victims of human trafficking
The Immigration Bureau is among the controversial agencies under the previous Duterte administration due to the so-called ‘pastillas scheme’.
Tansingco will take on the post from the bureau’s officer in charge, Rogelio Gevero, Jr.
