Immigration personnel go overtime for ‘Ompong’-affected travelers

The Bureau of Immigration’s counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) ordered its personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and other airports to extend work hours, if needed, to accommodate travelers affected by Typhoon “Ompong.”

“A lot of flights arriving and leaving the Philippines have been canceled due to bad weather,” BI Commissioner Jamie Morente said in a statement on Sunday.

“We expect that the number of travelers to surge once normal flight operations resume,” he added.

READ: List of canceled flights from Sept 14 to 17, 2018

Red Mariñas, Port Operations Division chief, has instructed BI-Naia Terminal heads to monitor their personnel to ensure the delivery of services.

Marinas told immigration officers to bring toiletries and extra uniforms in anticipation of rendering extra hours of duty or being stranded due to heavy rain.

“This is the sacrifice of working in airport operations,” said Mariñas in a statement on Sunday.

“We work rain or shine. During past typhoons, some of our officers would wade through floodwater just to be able to report to work,” he added.

Ompong disrupted numerous flights after entering the Philippine area of responsibility on Wednesday afternoon and leaving Saturday evening. It is recorded to be the strongest typhoon to hit the country so far. /cbb

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