The Department of Justice (DOJ), through the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking (Iacat), announced on Thursday that it was suspending the implementation of the revised departure guidelines for Filipino travelers amid concerns raised by senators and 鈥渢o address the importance of transparency and public consultation.鈥�
But while Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and other senators welcomed the DOJ鈥檚 move, calling it proof that the government was listening to public sentiment, they said they would push through with their investigation into the stricter travel policy which was supposed to take effect on Sept. 3.
In a statement, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the DOJ 鈥渁cknowledges the vital role of our esteemed senators as representatives of the people,鈥� adding that it was part of his department鈥檚 duty to address their concerns and provide them with the necessary information and clarifications regarding the travel guidelines.
Remulla later told reporters that the suspension was decided to allow them to clarify questions about the revised travel policy to the senators. 鈥淧eople are [also] complaining. We need to heed the call of the people to review the rules. We鈥檙e doing that in the spirit of transparency.鈥�
Senate resolve
On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously approved two separate resolutions, one of which authorized Zubiri to ask the Supreme Court to stop the antitrafficking council from enforcing the policy that senators believed violated Filipinos鈥� right to travel.
The other resolution urged the Iacat to heed the calls of various sectors to temporarily set aside the revised guidelines.
But the DOJ clarified that the temporary suspension would have no effect on existing laws and regulations governing travel and immigration procedures, saying they remain 鈥渋n place until further notice.鈥�
It also insisted that the primary objective of the new guidelines was to streamline departure procedures, 鈥渆nsuring a more efficient and secure process for all individuals traveling abroad.鈥�
Call for witnesses
For his part, Zubiri urged Filipinos who fell victim to the 鈥渦nreasonable and unconstitutional鈥� guidelines being applied by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Iacat to testify at the hearings to be conducted by the Senate committee on public services.
鈥淚 am hoping we will be able to invite even five or 10 of them to share their story, and it will be an open hearing. They鈥檙e all welcome, all of them, including those who posted videos on YouTube鈥攚e鈥檒l give [them] the protection in the Senate to be able to air [their] side,鈥� he said.
32K offloaded
Citing official records, Zubiri lamented that some 32,000 Filipino passengers were offloaded in 2022, but only 1.4 percent of them were confirmed to be human trafficking victims.
鈥淪o based on those numbers, it is clear that 98.5 percent of those passengers were victims鈥攏ot of human trafficking, but of the abuses of a single agency,鈥� he said, referring to the BI.
According to Zubiri, the Senate will inquire into the antitrafficking council鈥檚 legal basis to issue the latest guidelines which require the presentation of personal documents, a possible violation of people鈥檚 right to privacy.
鈥淪o definitely, there are several issues there that have to be resolved by the Iacat before they implement these guidelines, and we put it in a free and open hearing,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e look forward to a dialogue with [Remulla] and the Iacat to resolve the issues and find better solutions to combat human trafficking,鈥� Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said, as he maintained that the revised travel guidelines were 鈥渦nreasonable, prone to abuse and misplaced.鈥�
鈥淭he government should not put the burden on our kababayans but instead strengthen their programs against trafficking,鈥� he stressed.
Chaos averted
Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said the temporary suspension of the revised travel guidelines 鈥渁verted what could have been a chaotic situation at our airports鈥� as the 鈥渃umbersome requirements鈥� may have led to missed flights and boarding delays.
鈥淲e are one in our goal to give ease and security to legitimate travelers while making it hard for wrongdoers to victimize the public,鈥� she said.
The DOJ earlier stressed the revised guidelines were similar to the 2015 travel policy and that Iacat was not imposing additional documentary requirements on departing passengers.