BI deploys additional personnel for holiday season

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday announced that it deployed 50 recently trained Immigration officers to enhance border control operations amid the holiday season.

According to the BI, the officers will be stationed at key locations in the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport, Caticlan Airport, and Clark International Airport.

“We are fully prepared for the peak season and are maximizing our manpower to better service the traveling public,” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement.

He said the BI also mobilized augmentation and rapid response teams.

The BI projected 4 million arrivals and 3.8 million departures in the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the agency said it observed around 32,000 average arrivals and 36,000 departures in the past few days.

Tansingco previously reminded international travelers this Undas season to be at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departures.  —VAL, GMA Integrated News