Immigration frontliners also face risks

MANILA, Philippines — Among the most overlooked frontliners in the battle against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are personnel of the Bureau of Immigration.

BI officers meet and process repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In a phone interview with The STAR, Erika Roxas of the BI said immigration officers usually meet the OFWs on the tarmac of NAIA Terminal 1, and they do so without personal protective equipment (PPE), using only masks and goggles.

“We do not have PPEs. The Bureau of Quarantine personnel have theirs. We only have masks and we buy our own protective gear, such as goggles,” she told The STAR, adding that the Department of Health has yet to release their PPEs. “Maybe we are just not on top the heirarchy (of priorities)... We are mandated to still be on duty,” she added. 

“We provide for ourselves, but there are some donations of masks, gloves,” she said. She has asked her staff to just use jackets as protection from the virus.

Some 26,000 OFWs are expected to return home from various countries hit by COVID-19. Roxas said those who have come back are about half of that number. BI personnel are on three shifts at the NAIA terminal 1 – morning, mid shift and graveyard. They are on duty for three days, then take 12 days off.

Roxas said that since some are afraid to bring home the virus to their families, they sleep at the NAIA or, in her case, in her car. “We just sleep in our areas, or in our cars. We have been doing that, especially now. We just have to make do with the quarters at terminal 1, but the thing is, other officers usually serving at terminals 2 and 3 are now deployed at terminal 1.”

Food allowance is also not given to the officials on duty, so they either bring their own food or cook there. “There is no food provided for us. We bring our own food. We supervisors just joke about our meal plans. Establishments are closed. Good thing is, some donate food. But that is very seldom,” she added.

Their augmentation and hazard pay have still to be released as the BI’s main office is operating with a skeletal staff. Despite the risks of catching the virus and working under trying circumstances, BI officials still carry on and do their jobs. They just ask for recognition of BI officials as essential frontliners going through these tough times.

“We do not blame the bureau. We did not expect this at all... Of course, we are government employees, we are there 24 hours seven days a week. We provide for ourselves, but we think that it is part of our jobs, our mandate,” she said.?Dana Sandoval, BI spokesperson, admitted that officials fear catching the virus, especially since they are literally at the frontlines of the entry way to the country, interacting with many who may have come from COVID-19 infected countries.

“We cannot take away the fears, but there are things we must do and we must perform our mandate to man our borders and the management, as much as we can, tries its best to minimize that risk,” Sandoval told The STAR in a separate interview.

She said the scheduling of the employees were crafted in such a way that the officials are quarantined for two weeks. ?So far, Sandoval said there are no frontliners who tested positive for COVID-19.