BI bans cell phone use for airport personnel

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration has prohibited BI employees assigned at airports from using their cell phones while on duty.

In a statement issued yesterday, BI officer-in-charge Siegfred Mison said regulating the use of communication devices by BI airport personnel is necessary to prevent the employees from engaging in illegal activities such as human trafficking and human smuggling.

He said there had been incidents wherein immigration officers were seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage facilitating the entry of blacklisted aliens and the exit of human trafficking victims and foreign fugitives.

“In most of these instances, the immigration officers were seen using their phones in talking with their cohorts and the passengers,” Mison said.

The BI employees were ordered to deposit their cell phones in pigeonhole lockers or with their supervisors for temporary custody.

Mison said the prohibition applies to all immigration officers assigned to the airport’s arrival and departure counters.

Also covered by the prohibition are team leaders of the bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit as well as acting immigration officers and confidential agents assigned at the Filipino counters.

For emergencies, the employees covered by the cell phone ban are allowed to use the cell phones of their duty supervisors.