An immigration officer has been relieved of his post and ordered investigated after he reportedly allowed an overstaying foreigner to pass through the passenger gate at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga last April 17.
The foreigner, Indian national Jasbir Singh, was intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration's Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU) before he could board a flight to Singapore.
In a statement, the BI said that the immigration officer, whose name was withheld pendng results of the investigation, allowed Singh to pass through the passenger gate without a stamp of clearance from the bureau.
“According to BI-BCIU Acting Chief Vincent Bryan Allas, Singh presented his boarding pass with an immigration departure stamp and emergency travel document without a BI stamp,” it said.
“Allas said it was obvious that the passenger wanted to leave without paying the immigration fees and fines that overstaying alien tourists are assessed and required to pay before they could be cleared to leave the country,” it also said.
The BI noted Singh arrived in the Philippines last Dec. 9, 2023 and was admitted as a tourist for 21 days. He is now detained at the BI's facility in Taguig City pending his deportation.
On the case of the immigration officer, Commissioner Norman Tansingco said: "He will be facing an investigation for possible cases of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service."