Senator Chiz Escudero has called for the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to reimburse passengers who missed their international flights due to extended questioning by immigration officers.
This move supports the previous criticisms made by Senate President Migz Zubiri about the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking’s new departure regulations.
According to Escudero, more than 32,000 passengers have been prevented from boarding their flights due to long interrogations aimed at curbing human trafficking.
The Senator argues that the officers should bear responsibility for the inconveniences caused to these travelers.
Escudero pointed out that embassies usually vet passengers before issuing visas, questioning the need for a second round of interrogations at the airport.
“Why does it have to be presented again to our immigration officers at airports?” he asked.
To address this issue, Escudero has proposed adding a provision in the 2024 national budget that would cover the expenses of affected passengers.
The funds for this reimbursement would come from the immigration fees collected by the BI.
“This will be chargeable against the immigration fees being collected by the BI. Let it hurt them so that they learn their lesson and exercise their power not arbitrarily but with due diligence and care,” said Escudero.
He also suggested retroactive reimbursements and encouraged the Senate to earmark funds for this purpose in the upcoming budget.
Senate President Migz Zubiri welcomed the proposal and assured that during the budget deliberations for the upcoming year, special provisions regarding reimbursements for offloaded passengers would be considered.