37,000 suspected trafficking victims stopped from leaving PHL in 2017 —BI


By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
More than 37,000 passengers were stopped from leaving the country last year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday, as the agency continued to step up its anti-trafficking drive in the different international airports and seaports.
Data from the BI port operations division show 37,856 travelers were not allowed to depart in 2017 pending their compliance with government requirements for departing Filipino tourists as spelled out in the revised guidelines on departure formalities issued by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).
Most of the passengers were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while the rest were offloaded in the ports of Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilo, Davao, and Zamboanga.
“Many of these offloaded passengers were caught in possession of fraudulent supporting documents,” said BI travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) chief Julius Caesar Feria II. “Some resorted to misrepresentation while others had tampered or unverified employment visas.”
Feria said the bulk of the passengers, also known as “tourist workers,” were bound for the Middle East while some were destined for other countries in Asia, Europe and North America.
The BI also said there were 2,300 foreigners who were barred from leaving last year, such as those who were in the bureau’s hold departure list and watchlist and aliens who are subject of ongoing deportation proceedings.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, meanwhile, instructed immigration officers manning the ports to remain vigilant in screening departing Filipino travelers to make sure that they do not fall prey to human traffickers and illegal recruiters.
“We should not allow these syndicates to prey on our poor countrymen by enticing them to illegally travel abroad without proper documentation,” Morente said. —KG, GMA News

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