THE Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) maintained on Saturday, August 26, 2023 that the revised protocols for departing Filipino passengers is not intended to prevent them from travelling but to protect especially those vulnerable of human trafficking.
In a press conference in Quezon City, Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Mico Clavano said the issuance of the revised protocols which will be implemented by September is in response to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.'s order to intensify efforts to combat human trafficking in the country.
“In fact, he has given specific instructions to maintain our Tier 1 ranking. That means he will support all the facets and all the programs that the IACAT has already put in place and he would like to enhance those programs," Clavano said.
“Although we have already been given the Tier 1 ranking for 2022, we felt we could further enhance our own operations against human trafficking,” he added.
Marcos earlier said that human trafficking activities could compromise the country’s economy and national security.
The President expressed concern especially on the welfare of children and women who are the most vulnerable to human trafficking.
The order came as the Philippine government repatriated several Filipino workers who were victims of human trafficking particularly from Myanmar.
The victims, who were offered a job in a telemarketing company in Thailand, ended up as crypto-currency scammers in Myanmar. Some of them claimed they were abused and being maltreated.
The Trafficking in Persons Office within the U.S. Department of State conducts a yearly assessment to monitor all countries’ efforts to combat human trafficking and provide each country with a grade according to a 3-tier scale.
The Philippines is currently under Tier 1 status which means the country is fully compliant with the minimum standards.
In the guidelines which was issued last week, the Iacat listed down the necessary documents to be presented to the Bureau of Immigration, depending on the type of passenger whether it be a tourist, overseas Filipino worker or minor, among others.
This came amid several complaints from passengers who missed their flights due to “excessive” documentary requirements and procedures by the BI.
Clavano maintained that the guideline “is really not a hindrance to the right to travel.”
“Ito po ay isang polisiya ng ating gobyerno na i-eradicate or tigilan na talaga itong malawak at malalim na problema ng human trafficking,” he reiterated.
“In fact, doon po sa ating statistics, almost 99 percent of the time ay wala naman po talagang problema. This is only for those vulnerable sectors at iyon po iyong ginawa ng 2023 guidelines – tiningnan ho natin lahat ng categories ng travelers, iyong mga na-identify ho natin na vulnerable sa human trafficking iyon po iyong medyo mas maraming additional documents kung sakaling magduda iyong immigration officer,” he added.
Earlier, Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez said that aside from unduly interfering with the Filipinos’ right to travel, the policies would also violate the passenger’s right to privacy since they are required to provide proof of their financial capacity like bank statements or proof of income.
Rodriguez, a former commission of BI, said such policy may be prone to extortion, harassment and corruption.
Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel urged the government to scrap this policy saying that it is infringing on the constitutional right to travel and freely move.
“Authorities should hear us out and scrap this policy. If they want to fight human trafficking, this is not the way to go,” Manuel said.
From January 1 to May 15, 2023, 39,061 international bound passengers were referred for secondary inspection, and 25,297 of them were allowed for departure while 13,764 were deferred.(SunStar Philippines)