The impact of the apparent bureaucratic standoff between the Bureau of Immigration and the Budget department has caused delays in processing of travelers.
Long queues of passengers waiting to catch their flight were caught up in the lack of immigration officers at NAIA airports, reported Interaksyon News.
The long queues at immigration counters have triggered concern, coming just days before Holy Week when the volume of travelers usually peaks.
Security concerns have also been flagged, given earlier alerts about terrorists possibly exploiting the problem of overburdened BI screeners.
Travelers and netizens irate over the delays. One of them posted, “Kung andito lang si Presidente, hu u din kayo sa amin.”
As a refresher, the exodus started when some immigration officers resigned or taken leaves from work en masse after President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the use of express lane charges for their overtime pays.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Tuesday said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the opening of 887 plantilla positions to solve the shortage of IOs.
However, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) allegedly rejected the proposal.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente denied on Wednesday that he opposed the creation of additional plantilla posts.
“It only came last Thursday,” Morente said in a radio DZMM interview.
The Bureau of Immigration, he said, can only start accepting IO applicants 10 days after the Civil Service Commission posts a notice of the job vacancies.
Morente also insisted that the use of express lane fees for overtime pay has legal basis under the Immigration Act.
