My friend is being repatriated to a third country from the Philippines and has handed over his passport to the immigration authorities. It has been two months already, and they said it's necessary to wait for the signature of the head of the immigration bureau. Is this normal?

Are there others in a similar situation? Currently, without a job in the Philippines, all I do is wait every day without any income. Surely this won't take half a year, right? Can someone knowledgeable help answer this?