BI reshuffles top airport officials to prevent graft, boredom

Bureau of Immigration. INQUIRER FILE / ALEXIS CORPUZ

To enhance performance and fight graft, the Bureau of Immigration is reshuffling top officials in different immigration sub ports in the country.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered last week the reshuffle of 59 airport officials: 49 from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the rest from the Clark and Davao airports.

In a statement Monday, Morente said Guevarra also reshuffled the Alien Control Officers (ACOs) in more than 40 BI offices nationwide.

Among the reshuffled personnel are heads and supervisors of the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU), which conducts secondary inspection on travelers, and of the Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BCIU), which performs intelligence and counter-intelligence activities at the airports.

Morente said he already ordered affected personnel to immediately report to their new assignments and assume their duties.

“This revamp is long overdue.  Many of the airport officials have been in their posts for more than a year already while many ACOs have been in their jobs for more than five years,” Morente said.

“It’s time to give them new tasks so they can face new challenges and responsibilities.  This is also to avoid familiarity and lax performance of duties,” the Immigration chief added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Marc Red Mariñas said the revamp sought to improve the career and enhance the performance of their personnel.

“It also prevents fraternization which breeds corruption and avert boredom that dampens morale and stifles growth in the organization,” said Mariñas, head of the bureau’s Port Operations Division.

BI Deputy Commissioner Tobias Javier stressed that aside from strengthening the agency’s manpower at international ports, the BI was also focused on developing the professional growth of its employees. /cbb /Syrah Vivien Inocencio/INQUIRER.net intern