New Guides For Off-loading Passengers

source: mb.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has vowed to minimize mistakes in the implementation of guidelines for off-loading passengers.

Binay, chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), also admitted that the government had “shortcomings” in implementing previous off-loading guidelines which resulted in some legitimate passengers being stopped from getting on overseas flights.

The guidelines resulted in the "profiling and discrimination of Filipino passengers,” he said.

Binay stressed that the government will always respect the right to travel, and that the new guidelines “will hopefully balance the right to travel with the intensified campaign against trafficking.”

The new off-loading guidelines outline the requirements for the assessment of international-bound passengers based on four categories, namely: tourists; OFWs; immigrants and permanent residents; and special classes of passengers.

For tourists, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is authorized to conduct a secondary inspection after the primary inspection “for the purpose of protecting vulnerable victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment and other related offenses.”

The assessment will take into consideration age; educational attainment, and financial capability to travel.

Any passenger who will be subjected for secondary inspection will be required to accomplish the BI Border Control Questionnaire.

Travelers will automatically be subjected to secondary inspection if they fall under the following categories:

1. Travelers without financial capacity to travel escorted/accompanied by a foreigner not related.

2. Minor traveling alone or unaccompanied by either parent or legal guardian without the required travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

3. Repatriated irregular workers in which case, travel may not be allowed without the clearance from the IACAT.

4. Partners and spouses of foreign nationals intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé without the CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate.

5. Passengers traveling to countries with existing deployment bans, alert levels and travel advisories and those in possession of a visa to the said countries. For passengers intending to depart for the second or more times who stayed abroad for more than one (1) year during its previous departure as a tourist/temporary visitor.

source: mb.com.ph