Friday, March 07, 2008 BI orders probe on 'escort service'
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) at Mactan-Cebu International Airport yesterday said there is no “human smuggling” at the facility because everybody who leaves and arrives in Cebu is properly documented whether as tourist or as Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW).
Casimiro Madarang III, BI supervisor at the airport, said the allegations of Raul de Vera Jr., of the Association of Agencies Accredited to Cyprus, that some persons are smuggled to Cyprus is baseless.
Madarang said that in the first place, an airline company will not allow a passenger to board an aircraft without proper documentation because they will be fined $1,000 abroad and P50,000 in the Philippines.
He said there are only two kinds of Filipinos departing for abroad. He or she is either a tourist or an OFW. If he is an OFW, he needs documentation from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). If he is a tourist, he must have a valid passport, a round-trip ticket and a tourist visa in a country where it is required.
Asean
BI Director Geronimo Rosas said visa is not required in countries which are members of the Association of South East Asian Nation (Asean).
Madarang said that just recently, General Manager Danilo Augusto Francia of Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) created a Committee on Human Trafficking with BI, POEA, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Police Center for Aviation Security (PCAS) as members to monitor the movement of departing passengers.
Secondly, Madarang said MCIAA has already installed cameras in the airport’s strategic areas to monitor incoming and outgoing passengers.
“With that alone, the alleged escort service is impossible,” Madarang said. He also said Mactan has no direct flight to Cyprus.
He said escort service is also a remote possibility because the immigration area is fully sanitized during international flight departures and arrivals.
Madarang said the BI has uniform guidelines for immigration officers in the processing of travelers. (EOB)
