MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday advised its personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to avoid absenteeism in anticipation of the influx of international travelers before and during the holiday season.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente made the reminder after receiving reports of a noticeable increase in the number of passengers entering and exiting the NAIA in the past few days.
“The peak travel season has started. I am asking our immigration officers at the airport to be punctual and avoid unnecessary absences,” he said in a statement.
Morente instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) to report the names of immigration officers who have been habitually absent from work during the past several months.
He noted that notices would be issued to the erring employees for them to explain why they should not be administratively charged for habitual absenteeism.
Under civil service rules, frequent unauthorized absences or habitual absenteeism are grave offenses punishable by suspension of six months and one day to one year for the first offense and dismissal from the service for the second offense.
But, the BI chief assured that there are adequate personnel manning the NAIA immigration counters to cope with the increased volume of passengers during the holidays.
On the other hand, BI-POD acting chief Marc Red Mariñas warned immigration personnel at NAIA to avoid being absent and refrain from loafing during their duty as the offenses are also punishable with suspension or dismissal from the service.
He explained that an employee is considered to be habitual absentee if he incurs unauthorized absences of more than two and a half days for at least three months in a semester or for three consecutive months in a year.
“We have also noticed that some of our personnel have a tendency to file leaves of absence before and after their days-off and during weekends and holidays,” the BI official said.