The Bureau of Immigration vowed to sustain the anti-human trafficking drive even after the Philippines retained its Tier 1 rating in the US State Department’s 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report.
“We will continue to do our part to ensure that we eradicate trafficking through the strict enforcement of our immigration laws,” said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente in a statement Monday.
The country retained its premier TIP status for the third straight year and is one of 39 countries among 186 surveyed that continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to fight human trafficking.
A Tier 1 rating is given to those who fully comply with the minimum standards of the US Trafficking Victim Protection Act.
Morente called on all BI personnel manning the ports to maintain their vigilance in preventing the departure of suspected trafficking victims and in apprehending human traffickers and human smugglers.
Despite corruption which has not been totally eradicated, the report lauded the Bureau’s efforts in its strict screening of departing Filipinos.
“The BI Travel Control and Enforcement continued to screen departing passengers and deferred the departure of 29,357 passengers due to incomplete or missing travel documents or misrepresentation, referred 104 potential cases of suspected trafficking to [the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking] task forces, identified 55 possible victims of illegal recruitment, and stopped 168 foreign registered sex offenders from entering the country,” the report detailed.
BI OIC Associate Commissioner and Port Operations Division Chief Marc Red Mariñas said that from January to May this year, a total 14,076 passengers were deferred departure for misrepresentation or presentation of incomplete travel documents.
In June alone, BI officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport intercepted at least 67 overseas Filipino workers suspected of being minors who attempted to leave by passing themselves as adults and using fraudulently acquired documents.
“We were also successful in foiling several attempts by international syndicates to use the Naia as a transit point for smuggling illegal aliens to other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. Those involved were apprehended, detained and later deported and blacklisted,” he said.
Morente said they would not relax despite their positive ranking.
“The fight against human trafficking and illegal recruitment is a continuous joint effort of immigration and other government agencies.”
“Modern-day slavery has no place in this world, and the Bureau of Immigration will work day and night to ensure that our kababayans are protected from this threat,” he added.