Inilipat ng puwesto ang immigration officer na hinanapan umano ng yearbook ang isang pasaherong sasakay ng eroplano, ayon kay Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval. Pero itinanggi umano ng kanilang tauhan ang alegasyon.
“Because of this incident, he has been relieved from his post. So he has been reassigned to a back-end office as a result of this incident,” sabi ni Sandoval sa panayam ng CNN Philippines nitong Martes.
Nag-viral nitong nakaraang linggo ang isiniwalat ng freelance writer na si Cham Tanteras kaugnay sa kaniyang naging karanasan noong nakaraang Disyembre sa airport.
Patungo sana si Tanteres sa Israel para mamasyal pero naiwan siya ng eroplano dahil sa mahabang interview umano ng taga-immigration.
Ayon kay Sandoval, itinanggi ng kanilang tauhan na hinanapan niya ng yearbook ang pasahero.
“When the officer described the incident, he described it as just a regular secondary inspection, similar to what he does every day,” saad niya.
Idinagdag niya na nagkaroon ng kakulangan sa "komunikasyon" ang kanilang tauhan at pasahero.
“Wherein he might not have been able to explain properly to the passenger what just happened and why were additional questions being asked, why was she undergoing secondary inspection. That’s why there was a misunderstanding on what was happening,” paliwanag ni Sandoval.
Muling nilinaw ng BI spokesperson na hindi kailangan ng pasahero na magdala ng yearbooks, graduation photos o diploma para makabiyahe palabas ng bansa.
Hindi rin umano normal na tanungin sa pasahero ang marital status ng kanilang mga magulang.
“It is not a normal question to ask, especially since the passenger is an adult already. So there’s no real relationship — the question really has no relationship with the purpose of the travel or with the details of her travel,” ani Sandoval.
“So this is also one of the things that we are looking into as to why these questions have been asked by the Immigration officer when in fact they do not have any bearing on the circumstances of the travel,” sabi pa ng opisyal.
Sinabi rin ni Sandoval na mayroon kautusan o memorandum ang BI sa kanilang mga tauhan na bawal na kunin o hawakan ang mobile phones o gadgets ng pasahero kung walang pahintulot para tingnan ang e-documents.
“But without their consent, if they are refusing to show these e-documents… then our officers are not allowed to get these from the passenger,” saad ni Sandoval.
Sinabi rin ng opisyal na "red flag" kung may mga itinatanong ang kanilang mga tauhan na “something off” o walang kaugnayan tungkol sa "documentation, statements, and demeanor."
“So if there is something off or there is a disconnect among the three things… then this is considered a red flag,” paalala niya.
Babala ni Sandoval na mahaharap sa administrative sanctions ang mga immigration officer nila na magpapabaya sa kanilang trabaho.
“If our Immigration officer was found to be remiss of his duty or, in fact, any Immigration officer if they are found to be remiss of their duties then definitely they will face administrative sanctions based on existing policies of the Bureau,” sabi ni Sandoval. —FRJ, GMA Integrated News
