Press Release - Chiz calls on incoming BI chief to expedite reimbursement of offloaded passengers

Senate President Chiz Escudero is serving notice to the incoming Immigration Commissioner to rush the reimbursement of the expenses incurred by thousands of passengers who missed their flights due to unnecessary delays brought about by the pre-departure procedures of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

"'Ber' months na, pero ni isang kusing wala pa ring nabayaran sa kahit isang paseherong naperwisyo," Escudero said.

"Ang bilis mag-offload, ang bagal naman mag-download ng reimbursement," said Escudero, who previously raised this issue during the hearing on the BI's spending plan for 2024.

It was Escudero who introduced a special provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act that mandated the reimbursement of passengers who were left behind by their flights after being subjected to lengthy interrogation by immigration personnel for one reason or another.

The funds will be drawn from the unutilized collections of the BI that are returned to the Bureau of Treasury.

Despite the "clear instructions" of the GAA, the Senate President said the agencies involved in its implementation are seemingly dragging their feet on this matter.

"Hanggang ngayon wala pang guidelines," said Escudero, quoting Department of Justice officials who responded to his query on the implementation of the special provision during a recent hearing on the 2025 budget plan of the agency.

He said this delay "will surely hound the BI" if non-payment remains unresolved by the time the Senate starts its plenary debates on the 2025 national budget in November.

"In the guise of fighting human trafficking, many have been unfairly and arbitrarily denied their right to travel, their fate at the hands of 'gods' at the airport gate," Escudero said.

In 2022 alone, 32,404 Filipino passengers were not allowed to proceed with their flights. Out of the total, only 472 were found to be victims of human trafficking or illegal recruitment.

"The almost 32,000 offloaded passengers could fill 177 narrow-body Airbus jets. Sa dinami-dami ng pinerwisyo niyo dahil sa hinalang biktima sila ng human trafficking, kakarampot lang ang lumalabas na totoong may kaso. There's something wrong with this picture," Escudero said.

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