BI reshuffles 435 Naia personnel; implements rotation scheme 

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to curb corruption among its personnel, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reshuffled its staff assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Tuesday, adding that it will implement a terminal rotation scheme beginning May 12.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, the reshuffling in the assignment of its personnel is in line with the agency’s terminal rotation scheme, which is set to start officially on Wednesday, in an attempt to cleanse and reorganize the agency’s ranks.

“The objective of this rotation scheme is to avoid fraternization in the workplace, which studies have pinpointed as a possible source of corruption in government,” said Morente in a statement on Tuesday.

Morente said that a total of 356 frontline immigration officers and 79 immigration supervisors currently assigned at the Naia were affected by the rotation scheme.

Meanwhile, BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Carlos Capulong explained that the reshuffle also aims to ensure that sufficient manpower is available to serve the traveling public based on the volume of flights and passengers in a particular terminal.

“We also want to create a positive work environment by seeing to it that the workload of our immigration officers and their duty supervisors are evenly distributed,” Capulong said.

He added that transferring personnel to a different workplace setting would also help enhance the personnel’s knowledge and skills as border control officers of the country.

JPV