The Bureau of Immigration announced that the agency is now procuring body-worn cameras for its secondary inspectors which are capable of livestreaming, so the Office of the Commissioner can easily monitor all the activities of the BI personnel at the airport.

BI commissioner Norman Tansingco said that they have already initiated the procurement process, and they expect that by the end of this year they could already start the deployment of the cameras.

Tansingco shared that last year, United States President Joe Biden ordered the deployment of body cameras to law enforcement agencies, and earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security already complied with a department-wide policy on body-worn cameras.

The BI chief added that body-worn cameras will ensure that their immigration officers are effective and remain accountable for their actions as law enforcers, saying that it would be easier for them to investigate complaints of misconduct with the use of body cameras.

According to the BI, it allocated a total of P16 million from its budget for the purchase of body cameras. Aside from body-worn cameras, the agency is now procuring additional electronic gates in order to replace 50 percent of their manual operations by 2026.