The Bureau of Immigration has responded to viral offloading complaints on social media and alleged extortion of some of its officials.
A Filipina recently said that she was offloaded by BI on her way to Hong Kong when the Immigration officer stopped her because of her existing employment in the United Arab Emirates.
The Filipina said that she would still return to UAE but she will be travelling to Hong Kong for vacation.
The BI officer allegedly told the Filipina to cancel her work visa before she will be allowed to travel to another country.
The BI said that her previous travel record was a red flag for officers.
“Upon verification of her travel records, it was found out that she previously left as a tourist but ended up working in the Arab region without the required documentation and her current trip presented a similar travel pattern, together with another person,” the BI said in a statement.
The BI said that they have reason to expect that she will be recruiting other Filipinos to illegally work in Abu Dhabi.
“This is an investigation we will be pursuing, having found posts of her recruiting for work abroad. We are looking into referring the matter to other government agencies that might look into the alleged recruitment scheme,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
The BI also said that it is investigating its employee who allegedly extorted a passenger amounting to P150,000.
A seafarer complained about the incident when he was travelling to Paris.
The BI said that they are still waiting for a complaint from the victim.
Another Filipina also filed a case before the Ombudsman after she missed her flight.
“Upon verification with the BI’s system, it was confirmed that she presented herself for primary inspection only 23 minutes before the closing of the boarding gate, and was expeditiously processed by the immigration officer before being allowed to depart,” the bureau said.
