The days when Chinese tourists arriving in Manila had difficulty answering questions from immigration officers are over as the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced it has already hired 12 Chinese-speaking interpreters who are now reporting for work at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that since last week the interpreters have been reporting for duty at their assigned shifts in the immigration offices of the three NAIA terminals.
Morente said the interpreters, who were recruited as contractual employees, have been assisting immigration officers in interviewing or propounding questions to Chinese passengers in both the immigration arrival and departure areas of the NAIA.
“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 noted.
(Jun Ramirez)
