PHL, Indonesia intensify drive vs. human trafficking

Philippine and Indonesian officials have agreed to strengthen cooperation and intensify joint efforts to crackdown on human trafficking between the two countries.

The agreement was reached during a meeting last week between Philippine Immigration commissioner Siegfred Mison and a visiting Indonesian delegation.

During the conference, both parties agreed to tackle the serious plight of refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities entering their borders.

The authorities noted that most victims of human trafficking are Filipinos desperately seeking jobs abroad using tourist visas falsified by syndicates.

Mison, for his part, cited the need for stronger cooperation and tighter measures. He said considering that millions of people come and go through the ports each year, detecting human trafficking victims is like trying to find a needle in the hay.

The visiting Indonesian group was composed of officials and members of the “Desk of People Smuggling, Refugee and Asylum Seeker of the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.”

The Bureau of Immigration recently got flak for its stricter policy on departing Filipinos, particularly its move to require Filipinos who want to travel abroad to show proof of their financial capability to do so.

Under the standing policy, the BI will allow Filipinos to leave the country as long as they can show travel documents including a passport, visa, and a round-trip ticket. However, travelers bound for countries that have a high incidence of human trafficking will be subject to a secondary assessment.

According to the guidelines, which the BI said it has been implementing since 2012, the secondary inspection is "for the purpose of protecting vulnerable victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment and other related offenses." —KBK, GMA News

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