Of togas, diplomas and immigration officers

IN hot water.

These three words perfectly sum up the situation at the immigration counters and the X-ray scanners at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

I have written three times about the X-ray scanners who filched cash and watches from the luggage of Thai and Chinese tourists passing through the infamous X-ray scanning machines at the NAIA.

In the fictional imagination, these scanners are like portals to another world. You enter at your own risk, and when you come out, your cash is gone.

Immigration officers also went viral after their seemingly officious ways and predilection for offloading passengers went viral. A female freelancer going to Israel was asked if she had brought copies of her yearbook and diploma, and if her parents were separated or still together. They should have also asked the name of her dog and the nickname of her grandmother on her mother’s side.

Such a waste of time. The girl missed her flight; she bought another ticket and went to another terminal the next day. And that was how she was able to fly to Israel — and return to Manila, not a victim of human trafficking as the power-tripping immigration officer thought she would be.

TikTok, YouTube and other forms of social media surely have negative effects on one’s brain cells and eyes, but you can praise them for the swiftness with which they convey images. Especially if these are images of shenanigans by people who are paid from our taxes — and who are supposed to work for us and make our lives better.

The latest viral event regarding “the worst airport in the world” (not my words, but from global surveys) involves a young man who wore a toga to the airport to prove that he had finished school. In a scene reminiscent of Voltaire’s satires, content creator and “She’s into You” cast member Jim Morales went viral after wearing a toga to the infamous airport terminal. He was traveling to Osaka.

Last March 24, the savvy young man posted in his Facebook account photos of himself wearing a black toga at the NAIA Terminal 2, with the caption: “Ewan ko na lang talaga (I just do not know).”

His stunt comes weeks after a Filipino woman missed a flight from being subjected to a lengthy interview by an immigration officer, which included being asked for her yearbook and college graduation photo, this despite her finishing college a decade ago.

Morales’ post elicited many funny comments, including the need to prove one’s educational attainment to the immigration office by bringing one’s school medals, diplomas, certificates, transcripts of records, and even hardbound theses to prove one has left the groves of the academe.

Other people dropped witty comments like asking Morales to sing the graduation march or to produce a clearance issued by his teacher, principal or guidance counselor.

Later, Morales poked fun at himself in post with the caption, “[‘Yung] nalagpasan mo ang katanungan ng immigration sa Pinas (When you hurdled the questioning at Philippine immigration.)”

The content creator also posted videos of himself wishing he’d brought a jacket instead of a toga because of the chilly weather in Osaka. Kindly Japanese people also took photos of Morales in front of a cherry blossom tree, perfuming the air with its pink petals.

In an interview, Morales said he just wanted to lift everyone’s spirits and forget all the negativity currently going around.

“Sa kabila ng lahat, dapat tayong lahat ay nagkakaunawaan at hindi nagbabangayan. At the end of the day, dapat tayo-tayong mga Pilipino ay nagtutulungan (In spite of everything, we should understand each other and not quarrel. At the end of the day, all of us Filipinos should help each other),” Morales added.

Asked if he had any trouble at the airport, Morales admitted he took off the toga before going through immigration to avoid any issues, and put it back on once he got through. He also brought the other documents needed at the airport — his passport, his ID and his smile, reminding one of the Cheshire cat with the vanishing smile in

Alice in Wonderland.

All seems to have gone well, except that as I am writing this column, the TV flashed the breaking news of a Filipino seafarer who was denied exit by an immigration officer who allegedly asked for P150,000. Heads should really now roll at the “worst airport in the world.”