More immigration officers to fight trafficking, terror

More immigration officers from areas in the southern Philippines will be hired to beef up the country’s southern border against the movements of human traffickers, their victims and terrorists.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it will be recruiting additional immigration officers who are familiar with the area, as well as the locals living there.

“We aim to strengthen the southern border by recruiting around 30 immigration officers who actually hail from there, and they will be trained,” said BI deputy spokesperson Grifton Medina.

The additional immigration officers will be trained and deployed to five border crossing stations: Batuganding, Sarangani in Davao del Sur; Tibanban in Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental; Bongao, Tawi-Tawi; Balabac, Palawan; and Taganak Island.

The border crossing stations in Batuganding and Tibanban are near the country’s border with Indonesia, while those in Bongao and Balacbac are near the border with Malaysia.

Taganak Island is closer to Sandakan, Malaysia, than the Philippines.