‘Taray’ penalized under measure

Government workers must show utmost respect to the public as Senator Raffy Tulfo has proposed a measure that would sanction public servants who embarrass and insult people transacting business with their offices.

“Working in government requires understanding and patience with maximum tolerance to those people who approach you,” Tulfo said in a video interview shared on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Tulfo has filed the AntiTaray Bill that seeks to sanction government workers who would insult, embarrass, or yell at people who are transacting business with their respective offices.

The bill, he said, proposes that any government worker found guilty of embarrassing a client would be fired from the service and will be permanently banned from holding public office.

“They are the ones paying you through taxes, so why would you embarrass them? It will bounce back to you,” Tulfo said.

He said the proposed measure stemmed from the recently viral incidents showing the bad behavior of immigration officers toward air travelers.

Aside from being asked for too many documents that they can’t provide, which usually results in their offloading, Tulfo lamented that air passengers also complained about the unwelcoming treatment of immigration officers like insults and public embarrassments.

BI must have training

While he understands the need to protect Filipinos against human trafficking, Tulfo said the Bureau of Immigration should train its officers and set proper profiling guidelines that won’t psychologically harm travelers, especially those who only want to travel for leisure.

Tulfo said the bill will cover not only the Immigration office but also other national agencies, including public hospitals and the different embassies.

He said many complaints were against the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Social Security System, Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police, Department of Labor and Employment and Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Hopefully, my colleagues in the Senate will support me in this endeavor to pass the Anti-Taray bill. Wait for it,” Tulfo said.