EDITORIAL — Some of the first and among the last

Several personnel of the Bureau of Immigration made the news recently.

One was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 for allegedly letting Filipinos leave the country even with incomplete travel documents. The National Bureau of Investigation said the officer was arrested after a complaint filed by a woman who said someone tried to recruit her to illegally work in Thailand.

The Immigration officer allegedly received ?40,000 for every passenger who was let through and into the hands of illegal recruiters.

In another development, two female Immigration officers became news after they got into a fight near the arrival counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The two were allegedly involved in a love triangle involving a man who also happened to be an Immigration officer.

Isn’t the thought of some people willingly betraying their own countrymen in exchange for money is just sickening? As long as some Immigration officers are in cahoots with some human smuggling syndicates, there will always be Filipinos who will end up trafficked somewhere they can’t escape or get help from the Philippine government or any authorities.

As for the fighting love rivals, they must understand that for the passengers and other people in the airport for whatever reason, they represent not just their agency itself but also the government. They must behave accordingly.

While love is indeed worth fighting for, there’s a place and time for that. But that time and place is not in the workplace during office hours and certainly not in front of arriving passengers.

The bureau should take care to make sure its personnel are of good moral character.

Of course, corrupt and bickering officials aren’t limited to the Bureau of Immigration, there are other such characters in other government agencies as well. We bet some are even worse.

But considering that Immigration officers are some of the first people foreigners and locals meet when arriving in the country and among the last when leaving, they should take extra effort to leave a good impression.