Watch more News on iWantTFC

A Filipino passenger who missed her flight to Israel last Christmas due to a lengthy immigration interview says she might have been singled out because she was traveling alone.

Charmaine Tanteras said she had already been screened once by an immigration officer when she was asked to do another set of interviews. She said the 2nd interview caused her to miss her flight.

"Unang tinanong sa akin after my intention to travel is yung yearbook. Kung graduate ako. Sabi ko wala akong dala. Tapos hiningan ako ng graduation photo, wala rin akong dala. But I remember may wacky photo ako sa phone. Tinanggap naman niya," she said in a Kabayan interview.

Tanteras said she was also asked if her parents were still together and told to explain the nature of her business in Siargao in a written essay.

She said the immigration officer asked if she had booked her flight on her own and then took her phone to scroll through her emails.

"I had a printed copy of the confirmation but sabi niya siya raw mag checheck sa phone ko. So siya yung nagscroll sa emails sa phone ko. Kinuha niya yung phone ko tapos siya mismo nagcheck ng emails ," she said.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Tanteras admitted that her decision to travel alone on Christmas to Israel may have been the reason why the immigration officer asked a lot of questions. She denied that she was traveling to Israel to look for a job.

"Tourist lang po for Israel. Nagsabi ako na magta-travel ako for Christmas tapos babalik din dahil may return flight naman ako," she said.

"Actually, feeling ko factor din naman yun, na mag-isa ako, but then I have documents din naman na ako ang bumili ng flight ko. Ako ang gumastos. Sinabi ko rin naman na gusto kong mag travel alone sa Pasko, sa birthplace ni Jesus. Yun yung reason na sinabi ko sa kanya," she added.

Tanteras said flight crew asked the immigration officer about her since she was the only one who had not yet boarded the plane.

"Maalala ko sabi ng ground staff, if may plano ba yung immigration officer na i-offload ako kasi kung oo, hindi na nila ako hihintayin. Verbally, sabi ng immigration officer na wala daw. Ire-release niya raw ako pero marami pa siyang tanong kaya mas lalong tumagal," she said.

She said the immigration officer eventually cleared her to go. Tanteras said she and the airline's ground crew ran to the plane but were instructed that the plane doors were already closed.

She said she had to book another flight on another airline so she could go to Israel on Christmas.

Tanteras later made a TikTok video of her experience, which quickly went viral.

Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval earlier said the immigration officer involved with Tanteras' case has been removed from the frontline and reassigned to a backend office.

"While the procedure of asking secondary questions is really part of the immigration officer's duty, asking such questions that might not really be helpful in knowing the background of the person is cause for concern," she said.

She noted asking for a passenger's yearbook is not part of the questions asked by Philippine immigration officers.

Sandoval also said the immigration officer who questioned Tanteras denied asking for her yearbook.

"He denied asking for a yearbook photo but perhaps he was interested in knowing the background of the person who went viral," she said.

The BI spokesperson earlier said travelers need only present their ticket, passport and supporting documents to the immigration office.

Lack of a return ticket is considered a red flag, she said.

"Red flag din kung walang return ticket. Maraming kaso na peke ang ipiniprisintang return ticket," Sandoval said.

She said the immigration bureau is intent on curbing human trafficking following a rise in trafficking cases involved in crypto scams.

Watch more News on iWantTFC