No need to bring yearbook, diploma to airport – BI tells travelers; netizens still not pleased
The Bureau of Immigration on Friday clarified that travelers do not need to bring a yearbook or diploma to prove their educational attainment in order to be cleared to travel abroad.
The clarification came after a trending TikTok video by a Filipino traveler in which she recounted missing her flight after being subjected to incessant questioning by an immigration officer (IO) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in December 2022.
“You do not need to present your yearbooks, diplomas, and the like to immigration when you are departing,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.
Correcting the lingering “misconception” on social media that travelers will be asked to show their yearbooks and diplomas, Sandoval said travelers need only present their ticket, passport and supporting documents to immigration.
In her now-viral “immigration rant” video, Cham Tanteras claimed the IO asked her irrelevant questions such as whether her parents were separated or not and whether or not she had brought her college yearbook with her. Due to the lengthy questioning, Tanteras missed her flight to Israel and had to cough up P27,000 to book another flight for the next day, which she was able to take without a hitch.
Tanteras’s experience has angered netizens who questioned the rationale behind requiring a traveler to present a diploma or yearbook for international travel. One TV Patrol report even featured a Filipino traveler to New Zealand carrying her diploma among other college-related documents to NAIA in case she was asked to produce them.
Netizens found little consolation in the BI’s latest clarification. They astutely noted that “supporting documents,” aside from being vague and undefined, could cover a broad range of documents, which might include diplomas and yearbooks.
