The Bureau of Immigration said that Immigration officers are not allowed to greet ‘Merry Christmas’ to avoid offending passengers who are not marking the holiday season and possible solicitation among officials.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said that officers can only use generic greetings since not all passengers are celebrating Christmas.
Officials are not prohibited from greeting if the passenger greets them first, according to Sandoval.
The policy which can also impose penalties to violators aims to avoid possible solicitation and extortion.
BI officials are also reminded not to receive gifts from passengers in accordance with the civil service rules.
On Monday, the BI said that it is expecting around 1.5M total arrivals during December this year. According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, travel trends in 2023 show a major rise in travelers.
In an official release, Tansingco revealed that the agency recorded a total of 1,160,699 arriving passengers for November 2023. Almost half of these figures constitute foreign nationals.
According to the BI chief, this reflects the success of the government’s active tourism campaigns.
