THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has formed a special team that will focus on conducting pre-screening of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and attend to their immigration needs at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
In a memorandum order, BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina instructed personnel at the airports’ immigration departure areas to ensure that OFWs lining up for immigration processing are given utmost priority.
In the same order, Medina has designated OFW counters which shall only be used exclusively by OFWs.
The directive, he said, is in compliance with the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente that immigration departure formalities for OFWs be conducted expeditiously.
In case of long lines in OFW counters, members of the Bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) shall speed up the queues by inspecting and ensuring that the passengers’ travel requirements are complete while they are still on the line.
“It’s a matter of deploying more people to focus on OFW... It’s a small move, but you’ll be surprised at the impact on easing the lines for them,” Medina said.
Ordinarilly, a passenger is processed within 45 seconds. Medina sees that the scheme may decrease the processing time of up to 33%.
Medina also assured the public that OFWs referred for secondary inspection due to concerns on their travel documents will likewise be prioritized and the matter resolved within 10 minutes.
Commissioner Morente said that the scheme is only part of the series of improvements he plans to implement in 2019.
“The year 2019 will be all about process improvement. We have studied what can do to provide better service. The e-gates and the pre-screening of OFWs are just the beginning,” he added. (Keith A. Calayag/SunStar Philippines with PNA)