Senator Joel Villanueva on Tuesday, May 4, called on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to sustain its “one-strike” policy against immigration officers (IOs) and personnel found to be involved in human trafficking activities.

Villanueva made the appeal to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente during the Senate Committee on Women and Children's hearing on Filipino women who were trafficked to Syria.

“It is important that this policy be sustained...we want them to know they will face the full force of the law,” said Villanueva, who chairs the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment at the hearing.

Morente affirmed that the “one-strike” policy against erring BI officials is still being enforced but the agency has to first seek clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) when suspending or removing IOs involved in irregularities, including those involved in the trafficking of Filipinos.

Villanueva, however, noted that the involvement of high-ranking officials in the human trafficking syndicate is the biggest challenge now facing the bureau.

Since IOs supposedly have discretionary powers over who to allow to depart or enter the country, the senator said they are overwhelmed by fear and other factors in deciding to their entry or departure from the airports.

“Malaking challenge po sa ating lahat kung ang kasabwat na ang mga matataas na opisyal, at kasabwat halos ang buong environment na pinagtatrabahuhan n gating mga officers (The biggest challenge for all of us is when top government officials and those part of the whole environment where our officers are working at are involved),” he said.

During the hearing, some BI personnel affirmed there was implicit pressure to agree to “pakikisama” or go with the flow, especially for those who are given new assignments.

“Kung ganyan ang kultura, kung ganyan ang norm na nangyayari sa isang loob ng ahensya, magpapatuloy po iyan kahit ano pang training ang ibigay natin ( if that’s the prevailing culture, the norm that is happening within the agency, that will persist no matter what kind of training we give them),” the senator stressed.

“Ang mahalaga po dito ay (What is important here is) system modification. Kapag may red flags na nakikita, dapat tukuyin ito agad at aksyunan (If there are red flags, they should be able to identify and take action immediately),” he further said.