MANILA - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it deployed 12 Chinese-speaking interpreters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to assist in answering questions from Chinese nationals.
The interpreters assist immigration officers in interviewing Chinese passengers in both the immigration arrival and departure areas of the NAIA, said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
"By engaging their services, we were able to eliminate the language barrier that for so many years has been a source of misunderstanding and miscommunication between our immigration officers and Chinese travelers," Morente said.
Immigration officers can now determine if an arriving Chinese should be denied entry depending on how he or she answers questions about their purpose for traveling to the Philippines, he said.
Immigration statistics showing that the Chinese comprise 35 percent of foreign nationals who were denied entry at the NAIA.