Internship: 3rd Week

           

            Quite frankly, this week was very eventful for me.

       We were able to encounter different cases of interception of the passengers. Honestly, I still need to get used to the procedures that the personnel of the BID follow. Seriously, this office is not for the faint-hearted. Just the other day, when we went to talk to an immigration officer about something, we saw a woman crying while talking to her. We weren’t able to really know what exactly happened to her, but it seems like she was off-loaded because she did not complete the requirements needed for her to leave the country.

            There was also the case of a Croatian national who was intercepted at the counter because he was not able to secure a visa before leaving for the Philippines. From what I heard in his story, it seems like it was a misunderstanding on his part and the travel agency he bought his ticket from. The agency told him that he did not need a visa to enter the Philippines. However, it was clear on the memorandum from the Bureau of Immigration that Croatian nationals need to secure a visa before they can enter the country. It was really a lapse on the part of the agency because they did not double-check the information before giving it out. In the end, whether it was his fault or not, he was barred from entering the country and was therefore sent back out.

            Then there was the case of an American whose I-Card expired without him knowing. Apparently, he misunderstood the format of the date printed on the I-Card, thinking it was supposed to expire on September of 2012.

            Then most recently, there was a British man who came to the office bringing a set of questions about his wife’s plan to petition him to be a permanent resident here in the Philippines. It was quite funny because he actually had this sheet of paper where he wrote his questions and the answers that we provided.

            Aside from the actual encounters that we had, this week was really busy because of all the paper works that we were assigned to do. We sorted out four months’ worth of General Declaration and Passenger Manifest. It actually took us one day and a half to finish, and there were three of us who worked for it!

            This week is really full of learnings for me. Again, it made me realize how tedious the procedures are if you are a Filipino wanting to leave the country or a foreigner wanting to enter the country. I really had fun but at the same time I felt pity for those who were intercepted especially since it was not really their fault.

            We only have more than a week to go before our practicum ends but I think I still have a lot to learn. I’m looking forward to the coming days. :)