Filipino groups welcome anti-trafficking safeguards
New rules seek to address complaints about immigration problems
Dubai: Filipino groups welcomed the new ‘offloading' guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) but said they will remain vigilant during the implementation of the directives.
Offloading refers to action by officials of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent an individual from travelling abroad on suspicion that he or she may fall a victim to human trafficking.
The new ‘offloading' guidelines are a result of a meeting of IACAT members in October following calls by overseas Filipinos, including those from the UAE, to review the ‘absolute discretion' of the BI in offloading passengers.
Secondary inspection
Based on the new guidelines, a traveller will undergo primary inspection, during which the passport, visa and roundtrip ticket will be examined. The BI is also authorised to conduct a secondary inspection "for the purpose of protecting vulnerable victims of human trafficking" taking into account age, educational attainment, and financial capability to travel.
If an individual undertaking travel is not financially capable of travel, "an authenticated affidavit of support" will be required before the trip is cleared. Such an affidavit may be requested and authenticated by the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General in Dubai.
Any passenger subjected to secondary inspection will be required to fill a BI Border Control Questionnaire. This provision, according to Vice-President Jejomar Binay, presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers and chair emeritus of IACAT, was inserted to protect "tourist workers" who are at higher risk of illegal recruitment and trafficking from leaving the country.
"We believe the new guidelines are more comprehensive since the IACAT already has a wider membership, which include non-government organisations. We made a point to incorporate all their inputs," Binay added.
"Migrante-UAE welcomes the new guidelines as approved by the vice-president. We appreciate that during the deliberation of the said policy our voices were considered," Nhel Morona, secretary-general of migrant rights group Migrante-UAE, told Gulf News. Migrante-UAE was one of the groups which formed an alliance that campaigned for the Philippine government to issue a clear-cut guidelines on offloading last year.
"We will keep watch over this policy especially for the secondary inspection where the rights of a person might be violated," he said.
