THE Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) yesterday approved the revised guidelines on departure formalities for Filipinos bound abroad as part of its overall effort to prevent departing citizens from becoming prey to human traffickers and illegal recruiters.
In a statement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the revised guidelines were approved during the IACAT’s 58th Regular Council Meeting last August 18. Its implementation will take effect on September 3 this year.
The IACAT is chaired by the DOJ secretary with the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as vice chairperson.
The other member-agencies are the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Departmnt of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Health (DOH), PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said the IACAT approved the revised guidelines to protect Filipinos against the perils of human trafficking.
“We have 10 percent of the population that seeks overseas employment which is significantly higher than any other country and with that we need to also adjust our policies,” Clavano said.
He added that the revised guidelines is needed considering the number of Filipinos victimized by traffickers who entice them to work for example as call center agents abroad only to end up working as online scammers.
Under the revised guidelines, the IACAT said aside from the inspection of basic travel documents, immigration officers are now allowed to ask relevant clarificatory questions and require outbound passengers to show additional supporting documents.
The IACAT said secondary inspection should not exceed 15 minutes unless extraordinary circumstances require a longer period of inspections. The 15-minute period will commence at the start of the interview by the secondary inspection officer.
Immigration Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval clarified that the revised guidelines is not meant to hinder Filipinos from traveling abroad but rather to ensure that they would not become victims of illegal recruiters and traffickers.
“In fact our data showed that only 0.6 percent of departing passengers are not allowed to proceed vis a vis their actual purpose of travel. It’s already a misconception with what we see in social media,” Sandoval said.
She said the revised guidelines will be complemented by an enhanced regime of information dissemination to raise awareness among the public.
Last March, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said immigration procedures are undergoing revisions following complaints aired by departing passengers against alleged abusive behavior of some immigration personnel that caused delay to their departure, or worse, being prevented from boarding their flights.
This even as Remulla said the department fully understands the plight of Filipino passengers who were inconvenienced by the strict implementation of the departure formalities, especially those who were forced to miss or rebooked their flights.
