Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN)

A former Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioner-turned-congressman blasted the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Friday, Aug. 25 for imposing stricter rules on Filipino travelers, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). 

Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said it was unreasonable and unjustifiable for the council to subject all Filipino travelers to stricter rules so the agency could collar traffickers and trafficking victims. 

The harsher rules would also surely create long queues at immigration counters, Rodriguez said. 

“Those are unreasonable rules. They will give Filipino tourists, [OFWs] and other travelers a lot of inconvenience, and they could make them vulnerable to harassment and extortion by corrupt immigration officers and other airport personnel,” he said. 

He added that the 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,” noted Rodriguez, who urged the IACAT to scrap its revised, stricter rules while there is still time to do so. 

Starting Sept. 3, the required travel documents for tourists now consist of a passport, valid for at leas six months before the date of departure, valid visa, boarding pass, confirmed return or roundtrip ticket, proof of hotel, proof of financial capacity or source of income consistent with the passenger’s declared purpose of travel, and proof of employment and other equivalent evidence. 

There are other additional requirements for migrant workers and other Filipinos going abroad on “sponsored travel", said the former immigration chief. 

Noting that the additional regulations would require a traveler to show proof of financial capacity like a bank statement and proof of income, the Mindanao lawmaker said such requirement would “violate the departing passenger’s right to privacy". 

Moreover, all of these could be circumvented by proving the trafficking victim 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 reachers her/his destination,” he said. 

“The more stringent rules will unduly interfere with the Filipinos’ right to travel,” Rodriguez added.