MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said their airport personnel is prepared to assist in the possible mass evacuation of Filipinos from the Middle East.
Grifton Medina, BI ports division chief, has issued a memorandum ordering all BI airport heads to ensure that terminals are fully manned to guarantee the “smooth processing of possible repatriates.”
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente also assured the public that adequate manpower has been set by the BI’s port operations to assist Filipinos arriving from the Middle East.
“I have directed our port operations division to see to it that adequate manpower is available to address a possible upsurge in the number of passengers arriving from the Middle East,” Morente said.
Morente’s order came after the Department of Foreign Affairs placed Iraq to Alert Level 4 or mandatory repatriation amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte formed a committee to create an evacuation plan for Filipinos in the Middle East as tensions between the United States and Iran might escalate into war.