MANILA, Philippines - Immigration officers can now greet arriving tourists and balikbayans “Merry Christmas,” Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters the previous ban on spreading holiday cheer at ports of entry would no longer be in effect.
“General Manager Jose Angel Honrado of the Manila International Airport Authority has said that it’s okay to greet ‘Merry Christmas’ so long as it’s not abused as a means to get some money from returning Filipinos and tourists,” he said in Filipino.
Lacierda said wishing such good cheer in the past had been prohibited because some immigration personnel were using it to extort money.
However, a NAIA official said they have standing orders from Honrado to refrain from greeting arriving and departing passengers “Merry Christmas” to avoid the impression they are asking for a tip.
Dante Basanta, terminal 1 manager, said that the gesture of greeting passengers a happy Christmas might be misinterpreted as asking for something in return.
“Just give them your big smile and say welcome to the Philippines,” he said.
Basanta said Honrado asked immigration and Customs personnel to refrain from greeting “Merry Christmas.”
“We just want to protect our and your reputation from being misinterpreted by other passengers,” he said.
Last year, the immigration bureau banned personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from greeting arriving and departing passengers to avoid the impression that they are soliciting gifts.
Former immigration commissioner Ronaldo Ledesma said the warm and friendly smile of an immigration officer is enough to express his or her Christmas greeting to arriving or departing passengers.
“While it is mandatory for all immigration officers in our airports to always smile while on duty, they are forbidden from greeting passengers ‘Merry Christmas’,” he said.
Ledesma said the directive aims to avoid the impression that BI personnel extending the greetings are asking for a gift from passengers.
“Such gesture, even if sincere, might be misconstrued as asking for a tip so it’s better that they refrain from extending the greeting,” he said.
‘Hassle-free’ arrival
Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. has instructed Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to ensure a “hassle-free” arrival for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and balikbayans returning home for the holidays.
David issued the directive after receiving reports that an average of 3,000 balikbayans have been arriving daily at NAIA since last week.
A majority of the passengers come from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East.
David told the BI’s airport operations division (AOD) to designate more personnel to man the immigration arrival areas.
“You are directed to adopt measures to ensure that they do not encounter any unnecessary hassles or undue inconvenience upon their arrival at our airports,” David said in a memorandum to BI-AOD acting chief Lina Andaman Pelia.
Last year, some 200,000 balikbayans, mostly OFWs, arrived at the NAIA in the first week of December, Immigration officials said.
Trolley shortage
Meanwhile, NAIA officials will resolve the temporary shortage of luggage trolleys at the three terminals within the month.
Pushcarts run out during peak arrival hours and porters scramble to recover them from the parking area.
General Manager Jose Angel Honrado of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that NAIA 3 will receive 1,500 new pushcarts, while NAIA 1 and 2 will receive 1,000 each within the month.
Honrado said the new trolleys are state-of the-art, made of stainless steel and equipped with brakes.
Each trolley reportedly costs P15,000, he added.
He had ordered a total of 6,000 news trolleys and the delivery would be completed by the first quarter of next year, Honrado said.
The trolley could be rented for $1 each, earning the MIAA some P300 million a year.
Since the NAIA was constructed, each administration has established a foundation to handle the fund generated from the trolley rentals.
During the Arroyo administration, MIAA general manager Edgardo Manda identified two private concessionaires – K Services Corp. and Saber Development Foundation, Inc. – as handlers of the trolley services.
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