Mison orders use of handcuffs for unruly airport passengers

MANILA, Philippines - Apart from detention, unruly passengers at international airports and seaports will now be handcuffed, as ordered by Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred Mison.

In a statement, Mison said the use of handcuffs, which was implemented starting yesterday, was an offshoot of the recent commotion created by Chinese national Jiang Huizang, 38, who reportedly turned violent when she was being deported back to China.

A BI agent at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 discovered that Jiang has had multiple visa extensions since 2012 and was referred for secondary inspection.

Jiang reportedly taught Mandarin at an exclusive school in Manila since 2012. She had been using a tourist visa to enter the country and was teaching without any work permit.

Mison said to avoid similar incidents, BI airport supervisors recommended the use of handcuffs in extraordinary situations to prevent unruly passengers from hurting anyone, as well as disrupting airport operations.

But Mison still advised his personnel to exercise maximum tolerance.

“I will have any immigration officer handcuffed, too, if he is found using excessive force,” he said.

Prior to the use of handcuffs, rowdy passengers were simply asked to calm down and were escorted to holding areas.