A recent incident involving a Filipina tourist facing extensive and unreasonable questioning at Philippine immigration sparked a creative response from a 25-year-old vlogger and Filipino traveler. Arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Friday, Jim Morales donned a graduation toga and mortarboard cap to draw attention to the issue.

Morales explained that his actions were not meant to ridicule immigration officials, but rather to emphasize the unreasonable treatment of some Filipino tourists at the airport. He chose to wear the toga and cap to differentiate himself from others who had brought diplomas as proof of their educational background.

After posting a photo of himself in the outfit on Facebook, the image quickly went viral, garnering around 3,000 humorous reactions and over 1,300 shares. Morales clarified that he did not wear the attire at the immigration counter itself, but he believed his point had been made.

As a follow-up, Morales shared another photo of himself in Japan, tossing his mortarboard cap in the air, with a caption translating to: "When you have surpassed the questioning of immigration authorities in the Philippines."

In response to the situation, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) clarified that Filipino tourists do not need to bring their yearbooks to the airport and issued an apology. The BI explained that they were implementing strict measures to assess departing passengers in order to combat human trafficking.

According to the BI, a total of 32,404 Filipinos were deferred from departure last year, with only a small percentage being victims of human trafficking or illegal recruitment. Geoffrey Salatan, a Dubai-based travel professional, highlighted the frustration and financial strain experienced by those denied from going abroad.