IACAT: New travel guidelines aim to fight human trafficking ---- By SHERYLIN UNTALAN and LLANESCA PANTI, GMA Integrated News

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said on Saturday that the revised departure guidelines do not intend to intrude on people’s privacy or hinder travel. Department of Justice Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, who represented the IACAT, clarified that the guidelines strengthen government measures to fight human trafficking in the country. “Well, this is really not a hindrance to the right to travel. Ito po ay isang polisiya ng ating gobyerno na i-eradicate or tigilan na talaga itong malawak at malalim na problema ng human trafficking,” Clavano said at the Saturday News Forum. He asked outbound Filipino travelers, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), to follow the revised IACAT guidelines by preparing the required documents before proceeding to immigration counters at the airports to “ensure hassle-free processing of their travel documents.” “In fact, doon po sa ating statistics, almost 99 percent of the time ay wala naman po talagang problema. This is only for those vulnerable sectors at iyon po iyong ginawa ng 2023 guidelines – tiningnan ho natin lahat ng categories ng travelers, iyong mga na-identify ho natin na vulnerable sa human trafficking iyon po iyong medyo mas maraming additional documents kung sakaling magduda iyong immigration officer,” he added. 'Not the way to go' However, Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez said on Friday that the ''more stringent rules will unduly interfere with the Filipinos’ right to travel.'' Rodriguez said requiring a traveler to show proof of financial capacity, like a bank statement or proof of income, would also violate the departing passenger’s right to privacy and unjustly subject travelers to the whims of the immigration officer. “IACAT is allowing immigration officers to exercise 'subjective judgment, whims and discretion' on departing passengers. I am afraid that’s where extortion, harassment and corruption will arise,” he added. A former Bureau of Immigration commissioner, Rodriguez said human traffickers could even go around the additional regulations by providing their victims with show money. “In this digital age and with internet banking, it would be very easy for a trafficker to transfer some funds to his or her victim and for the latter to return the money once she/he clears immigration or reaches her/his destination,” he said. Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, said ''Filipinos traveling out of the country should not be treated as second-class citizens within our own airports.'' “Let us give our fellow Filipinos a chance to relax and visit their relatives without the stress,” she added. Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel called on the government to ''scrap this policy.'' “That is infringing on the constitutional right to travel and freely move. Authorities should hear us out and scrap this policy. If they want to fight human trafficking, this is not the way to go,” Manuel said. Clavano clarified that the revised guidelines are similar to the 2015 policy and that IACAT is not imposing additional documentary requirements on travelers. “Immigration personnel are just looking for red flags or potential trafficking victims,” he said. Among the basic immigration requirements include a valid passport, visa, roundtrip ticket, and boarding pass. “Ang ginawa lang ho ay in-identify lang ho natin ang iba’t ibang mga categories ng mga travelers, dinagdagan po natin iyon,” Clavano said. He said he hopes the new guidelines could serve as a deterrent to syndicates and fraudsters victimizing Filipinos, particularly after the US State Department gave the Philippines a Tier 1 ranking in the fight against human trafficking, which means government measures are effective and working. Clavano further said that from January 1 to May 15, 2023, there were 39,061 referrals for secondary inspection, and 25,297 of them were allowed for departure while 13,764 were deferred. On August 22, the IACAT 2023 Revised IACAT Guidelines on Departure Formalities for Internationally-Bound Filipino Passengers was approved. —VAL/VBL, GMA Integrated News

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