Lawmakers have expressed dismay over the new Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) guidelines for international-bound Filipino passengers which will take effect on Sept. 3.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said the public’s concerns with the revised international travel guidelines should not be waved off as mere “miscommunication.”
Some of the new guidelines require Filipino travelers to present various documents, including proof of financial capacity “We should not ignore the sentiments of passengers who in the end will be burdened with the new sloppy international travel guidelines,” Hontiveros said.
She also said the IACAT must take into consideration the various inputs from lawmakers, legal experts, and everyday Filipinos about the new pre-departure guidelines.
“We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to warnings that some of the requirements would only promote delays and are prone to exploitation by corrupt immigration officers,” she said.
According to Hontiveros, the IACAT should thoroughly study how to properly and practically implement the questionable requirements.
“Are all first-time travelers required to present “proof of hotel booking or accommodation?” How can the requirement of a notarized ‘Original Affidavit of Support and Guarantee’’ for sponsored travelers be complied with, without unduly burdening such persons?” Hontiveros said.
If these problematic requirements, Hontiveros said are not rectified, then the 45-second processing time for travelers being promised by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will become an empty promise.
She noted that the 163 percent increase in budgetary allocation being requested by the BI will be of no use if flawed rules are allowed to fill the immigration process with delays and complaints from aggrieved travelers.
The Senate Committee on Public Services has been actively conducting hearings and receiving inputs from various stakeholders on the issue of airport delays and inefficiencies.
Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas on Monday also expressed dismay on the new travel policy, saying this will unjustly burden travelers and migrant workers while leaving out more important interventions from the picture.
“We are burdening our workers with too many bureaucratic requirements when we should be looking at strategic solutions to address joblessness and poverty, notwithstanding the record of weak prosecution of traffickers in the country,” Brosas said.
The lawmaker said President Marcos instruction to intensify anti-human trafficking efforts does not coincide with the reputation of the Philippines as a haven for Chinese offshore gaming operators, aside from countless cases of Filipinos seeking jobs abroad but end up in trafficking networks.
“The government cannot even go after notorious human traffickers like Quiboloy and now they want to pass the burden to overseas Filipino workers,” Brosas, member of the House Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs, said. With Maricel V. Cruz
