Chaos at NAIA Terminal 2

[hk blues]

24 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

Immigration said she would  have been sent for an interview even if she was by herself because it was her first overseas trip so standing in a line by herself wouldn't have helped.

 

I wonder how this all ties in with the required seminar required when a women gets married and wants to change her passport to her married name?  One would imagine for married women no interview would be required.

[Tommy T.]

13 minutes ago, hk blues said:

But that would require telling a lie to the Immigration Official when they ask if you are travelling alone or otherwise, Tom.

I see, thanks, HK... I certainly don't advocate lying to anyone here in government for any reason. It's not right, it would give a terrible impression for other ex-pats and just cause BI and Customs to tighten up further, and the personal consequences would likely be nasty.

The reason I asked is because we traveled to Taiwan on PAL last year as a couple - not married. It was her first time outside the country, the first use of her passport. Nobody asked her or me if we were traveling alone. Maybe it is because of her other preparations that she was not questioned? She is a school teacher and, as such, was required to obtain approval from several officials from National, then Division, and her school principal too. She had a document authorizing her for international travel signed by just about everyone in DepEd! And she traveled again this year to Korea just with her daughter in April and then to Japan, solo, just last month. Never questioned, never hassled, but always with a permission letter from DepEd.

[RBM]

1 hour ago, Clermont said:

Yeah they again tried that bulldust on the wife and me last Christmas, we've been through the customs heaps of times, plenty off stamps to prove it. Nowadays I just sit down on my haunch blocking the passageway and tell them I'm too old to stand for to long. The wife chatters away and within a few minutes we were on our way. It's not the first time them custom people have had a crack at us, so now I squat down in the most inconvenient place to cause the most disruption, and when I finally get up, I give a little off balance wobble.  

Tried but very strict policy now, 1 person only allowed at booth.

My understanding is.....All first time Filipino travelers will have to go through screening .

Apart.....even seasoned Filipino travelers may have to submit, it's purely at the whim of the official manning  the booth.  In our case he refused to look at my partners documents, soon as he saw first time it is SOP ......screening.

In itself not an issue just the procedure is so disorganized it causes one to miss flight.

Edited November 25, 2019 by RBM

[Arizona Kid]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

But that would require telling a lie to the Immigration Official when they ask if you are travelling alone or otherwise, Tom.

Nobody lies in the Phills.

[Arizona Kid]

40 minutes ago, RBM said:

Tried but very strict policy now, 1 person only allowed at booth.

My understanding is.....All first time Filipino travelers will have to go through screening .

Apart.....even seasoned Filipino travelers may have to submit, it's purely at the whim of the official manning  the booth.  In our case he refused to look at my partners documents, soon as he saw first time it is SOP ......screening.

In itself not an issue just the procedure is so disorganized it causes one to miss flight.

And if you miss the flight..the money that you paid goes down the drain..right? It happened to us once when we were 10 min. late for the check in. I'm still pissed off about it.

[Tommy T.]

14 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

Nobody lies in the Phills.

You're wrong! You're lying!!!

[Marvin Boggs]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

 

To clarify I don't have a problem with interviews being done, it's just that the time taken caused us to miss our flight.

 

I guess I "DO" have a problem with this kind of treatment, which seems discriminating to me.  Yes I know about Filipinas running off abroad and getting work or whatever.  My stance is, if Singapore or Vietnam thought it was a significant risk, they would require a Visa.  Then she would go through the pre-screening steps at the embassy, and not in the airport where you've already booked the entire trip.  I look at it like, how dare some customs official tell her she "isn't allowed" to leave?  If its perfectly legal, and the paperwork and tickets are in order, then is she a free citizen or not?  What is the purpose of the passport?  If screening is required, it should be done at the passport and visa level, not at airport customs. 

 

[Arizona Kid]

15 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

I guess I "DO" have a problem with this kind of treatment, which seems discriminating to me.  Yes I know about Filipinas running off abroad and getting work or whatever.  My stance is, if Singapore or Vietnam thought it was a significant risk, they would require a Visa.  Then she would go through the pre-screening steps at the embassy, and not in the airport where you've already booked the entire trip.  I look at it like, how dare some customs official tell her she "isn't allowed" to leave?  If its perfectly legal, and the paperwork and tickets are in order, then is she a free citizen or not?  What is the purpose of the passport?  If screening is required, it should be done at the passport and visa level, not at airport customs. 

 

Maybe you guys looked nefarious. Customs officers have the right to question anyone they would like. It's their job.  

[hk blues]

45 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

Nobody lies in the Phills.

That's not true, AK!  

[hk blues]

29 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

I guess I "DO" have a problem with this kind of treatment, which seems discriminating to me.  Yes I know about Filipinas running off abroad and getting work or whatever.  My stance is, if Singapore or Vietnam thought it was a significant risk, they would require a Visa.  Then she would go through the pre-screening steps at the embassy, and not in the airport where you've already booked the entire trip.  I look at it like, how dare some customs official tell her she "isn't allowed" to leave?  If its perfectly legal, and the paperwork and tickets are in order, then is she a free citizen or not?  What is the purpose of the passport?  If screening is required, it should be done at the passport and visa level, not at airport customs. 

 

I understand your frustration, but it cannot be done at the passport application stage as that may have been done 5 years ago -  a lot can change in 5 years.  Even at the Visa application level it may not work - some visas are rolling and some countries do not require any visa. 

The real issue is not the process itself, rather how poorly organised it is here.