Immigration agents retrained to boost skills to fight human smuggling

MANILA, Philippines—Immigration  officers and intelligence agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)  have started a re-training seminar to detect fraudulent documents that would improve their capability to fight human smuggling.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said more than a hundred BI employees assigned at the NAIA and at the Intelligence Division are attending  the seminar.

The training will include detection of fraudulent travel document such as visas and passports, as well as intelligence data gathering.

“It is important to update their knowledge and skills on airport immigration operations, as well as current immigration practices, policies, structures and procedures,” David said.

David said similar retraining programs will be conducted for Immigration employees assigned in the various ports nationwide including Cebu, Clark, Davao, Zamboanga, Laoag and Subic.

BI Spokesperson, Lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang said that the seminar will last for two days, June 22 and 23.

“They will be taught immigration laws and procedures, including fraudulent travel document detection, and the profiling of undesirable aliens,” said senior immigration officer Rodolfo Gino, one of the lecturers in the seminars.

Gino said the bureau is presently designing a new training module for its immigration officers “to enhance their capability to perform their jobs as gatekeepers of the country.”