THE Bureau of Immigration will hire Chinese interpreters for immigration officers in screening and interviewing Chinese nationals following complaints that more than 350 Chinese tourists were barred entry at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Commissioner Jaime Morente said at least 12 Chinese interpreters will be employed to act as translators for immigration officers in conducting primary and secondary inspection of Chinese travelers.
Morente said with the help of the interpreters, immigration officers can perform their tasks of assessing Chinese passengers before they are admitted into the country.
Morente said the interpreters, who will be hired on a contractual basis, will be deployed initially to all three terminals of the Naia where they will comprise the BI administrative support staff and render duties in various work shifts daily.
According to the BI chief, recruitment of the interpreters is long overdue as their services have been repeatedly and continually sought out in the past by immigration officers and immigration supervisors at the Naia.
He said for many years BI personnel at the Naia have been having difficulties conversing with Chinese passengers as most of the latter cannot speak English.
He added even the airline companies do not have interpreters who can help their Chinese passengers communicate with immigration officers.
BI-POD chief Marc Red Mariñas, who recommended the hiring of the interpreters, observed that due to the language barrier, many Chinese nationals were barred from entering the country for their failure and inability to explain the purpose of their travel.
As a result, Mariñas said the bureau has been receiving complaints that the Chinese passengers were excluded mainly because they could not express themselves in English.
Mariñas cited statistics showing of the 1,938 aliens denied entry at the NAIA during the first half of the year, 676 or about 35 percent of them were Chinese nationals.