The Philippine Bureau of Immigration has forbidden its officers from appearing in TikTok videos while they are wearing their official uniforms.
Jaime Morente, the bureau’s commissioner, said today that the policy was made to protect the integrity of the government office. He added that videos showing officials singing, dancing, and performing while wearing their uniforms creates a “negative image,” especially for frontline personnel.
Read: Transport Dep’t defends video of ‘gyrating’ employees, insists it was ‘educational’
“As public servants and supposed model Filipinos, employees must proudly wear their uniform at all times, present a professional image to the public and observe proper decorum and good taste in all their actions while they are on duty,” Morente said.
The bureau actually has a social media policy, which tells employees that they have “to desist from behaviors that would bring disrepute to public service.” In addition, all immigration officials have to “observe proper decorum” on their social media posts “to protect the integrity of the agency”.
TikTok has become a big hit in the Philippines, where singing and dancing is a bit of a national pastime. Getting viral on the platform, however, isn’t always a good thing. In October, several Land Transportation Office employees were called out for “gyrating” on a TikTok video, with the Philippine Commission on Women saying that the erring officials should have raised “the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of women and the role and contribution of women in the family, community, and society through the strategic use of mass media.”
Apparently, even the Immigration Bureau has seen a few TikTok videos starring its officers, which they have called “reckless.” Morente has warned those who plan to defy the order by threatening them with charges of “insubordination and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service.”
