Manila Bulletin
Philippines
On Tiktok, Poe reminds passengers to report immigration horror stories to BI asap
Philippines
On Tiktok, Poe reminds passengers to report immigration horror stories to BI asap
On Tiktok, Poe reminds passengers to report immigration horror stories to BI asap
Published Mar 23, 2023 02:24 am
Senator Grace Poe took to social media to remind air passengers who will go on vacation this Holy Week to be vigilant against abusive immigration officials following the viral offloading incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
On Tiktok, Poe cited the experience of one @chamtanteras, a Filipino passenger intending to travel to Israel, who ranted about her negative experience in the hands of an immigration officer (IO) in detail on social media. ‘Cham’ complained she was asked “irrelevant” queries about her, even to the extent of demanding her to produce her school yearbook. This caused the traveler to miss her flight despite being at the airport for several hours before the scheduled time of departure. The traveler was also forced to shell out more money to cover rebooking expenses. “Sino ba naman talaga sa atin ang nagdadala ng yearbook pag nagba-biyahe tayo (Who among us would bring a year book when they are traveling)?” Poe pointed out. “Kapag alam mong niloloko ka na, pwede kang mag report within 30 days or less dahil may CCTV sila sa airport at maari itong imbestigahan (If you already know you are being harassed, you can submit a report within 30 days or less because the airports are manned with CCTVs and they can investigate it),” she pointed out. Poe said she is glad that the traveler had the courage to share her experience online. “Dahil sa kanyang pag po post, maraming salamat marami sa atin ang nagka idea na ganyan pala minsan ang nangyayari sa immigration (Because of her post, we are thankful because many of us have an idea that this is what’s happening in our immigration),” the senator said. But what is saddening, she said, is the fact that ‘Cham’s experience is not an isolated case. “Nakakalungkot hindi lang si Cham ang nakaranas ng ganitong uri ng harassment dito sa IO. Marami naging biktima dyan kaya nga tinawag yang IO horror stories. So from the Immigration front, pati na rin sa security personnel sa airport, nakakabahala ang mga ganitong uri ng kaganapan (It’s sad that not only Cham experienced this kind of harrasment from an IO. There are many other victims out there, that’s why it was now dubbed as IO horror stories. So from the immigration front, including security personnel at the airports, this kind of incident is already alarming),” she said. Poe vowed to look into other more cases of offloading, and other issues hounding passengers and commuters. “Maasahan nyo na babantayan namin ang issue na to, para maiwasang maulit muli (Rest assured we will guard this issue, to prevent it from happening again),” she said. “Pero alam mo may masasamang loob talaga dyan na gagawa at gagawa yan ng kalokohan. Kaya bilang mga Pilipino, kelangan iangat natin ang antas ng ating reputasyon ng ating bansa. I-report ninyo ang ganyang uri ng aktibidad na nakakasama di lamang sa inyo kundi sa imahe din ng ating bansa (But we all know, there are so many scalawags inside the airport who will do whatever nefarious activity within there. That’s why as a Filipino, we need to improve the reputation of our country. Immediately report these kind of acitivites that not only harms you but the image of the nation as well),” Poe stressed.
@senatorgracepoe Stitch with @Cham | Siargao Island Life 🌴 Tigilan na ang Immigration Horror Stories, i-report ang karanasan ninyo sa BI within 30 days #naia #immigration #bureauofimmigration #BI #offloading #IOHorrorStories #Airport #travelph #travel #travelabroad #offloadexperience #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Grace Poe
On Tiktok, Poe cited the experience of one @chamtanteras, a Filipino passenger intending to travel to Israel, who ranted about her negative experience in the hands of an immigration officer (IO) in detail on social media. ‘Cham’ complained she was asked “irrelevant” queries about her, even to the extent of demanding her to produce her school yearbook. This caused the traveler to miss her flight despite being at the airport for several hours before the scheduled time of departure. The traveler was also forced to shell out more money to cover rebooking expenses. “Sino ba naman talaga sa atin ang nagdadala ng yearbook pag nagba-biyahe tayo (Who among us would bring a year book when they are traveling)?” Poe pointed out. “Kapag alam mong niloloko ka na, pwede kang mag report within 30 days or less dahil may CCTV sila sa airport at maari itong imbestigahan (If you already know you are being harassed, you can submit a report within 30 days or less because the airports are manned with CCTVs and they can investigate it),” she pointed out. Poe said she is glad that the traveler had the courage to share her experience online. “Dahil sa kanyang pag po post, maraming salamat marami sa atin ang nagka idea na ganyan pala minsan ang nangyayari sa immigration (Because of her post, we are thankful because many of us have an idea that this is what’s happening in our immigration),” the senator said. But what is saddening, she said, is the fact that ‘Cham’s experience is not an isolated case. “Nakakalungkot hindi lang si Cham ang nakaranas ng ganitong uri ng harassment dito sa IO. Marami naging biktima dyan kaya nga tinawag yang IO horror stories. So from the Immigration front, pati na rin sa security personnel sa airport, nakakabahala ang mga ganitong uri ng kaganapan (It’s sad that not only Cham experienced this kind of harrasment from an IO. There are many other victims out there, that’s why it was now dubbed as IO horror stories. So from the immigration front, including security personnel at the airports, this kind of incident is already alarming),” she said. Poe vowed to look into other more cases of offloading, and other issues hounding passengers and commuters. “Maasahan nyo na babantayan namin ang issue na to, para maiwasang maulit muli (Rest assured we will guard this issue, to prevent it from happening again),” she said. “Pero alam mo may masasamang loob talaga dyan na gagawa at gagawa yan ng kalokohan. Kaya bilang mga Pilipino, kelangan iangat natin ang antas ng ating reputasyon ng ating bansa. I-report ninyo ang ganyang uri ng aktibidad na nakakasama di lamang sa inyo kundi sa imahe din ng ating bansa (But we all know, there are so many scalawags inside the airport who will do whatever nefarious activity within there. That’s why as a Filipino, we need to improve the reputation of our country. Immediately report these kind of acitivites that not only harms you but the image of the nation as well),” Poe stressed.