The SUN HK : DOJ suspends travel guidelines for Filipinos after Senate move

Long lines like this at Immigration could worsen under the revised rules

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has suspended the implementation of revised travel guidelines for Filipinos leaving the country, after the Senate passed resolutions halting them.

The new travel rules, which were supposed to take effect on September 3, were widely criticized by the public, including lawmakers who raised concerns about their constitutionality.

One of the resolutions passed Wednesday authorized Senate President Migs Zubiri to file a petition with the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the guidelines.

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In a statement, Zubiri said the regulations which were crafted by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and were due to be implemented by the DOJ through the Immigration Bureau, infringed on the Filipinos’ constitutional right to travel.

“I truly feel, deep in my heart, it is unconstitutional,” Zubiri said in his privilege speech.

But in its press release earlier today, the DOJ said the revised rules were not meant to burden travellers and aimed only to “enhance the overall experience of departing passengers.”

The DOJ said it remains “dedicated to upholding the rights and welfare of all individuals, including the right to travel freely.”

Separately, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said that he has “has deemed it necessary to thoroughly clarify the issues surrounding the revised guidelines to both the senators and the public.”

“[W]e decided best to suspend the rules first so that we can clarify the issues when the Senate hearings are called so that we can explain,” Remulla said.

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He added all existing rules and guidelines remain in place until further notice.

The DOJ and IACAT released a copy of the revised guidelines on August 22, which were supposedly meant to protect human trafficking victims, after a number of Filipinos who left as tourists ended up working for scam syndicates in Myanmar and Cambodia.

However, the same thing happened to a number of Hong Kong citizens, and the government’s response here was to immediately rescue the victims, and set up hotlines for residents to call if they encounter trouble abroad.

Also, Immigration data cited by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva showed that out of the 32,404 Filipino workers who were stopped from leaving in 2022, only 472 or 1.46 percent were found to be victims of human trafficking.

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“We understand that the IACAT’s intent in the issuance of the Guidelines is to mitigate trafficking. But imagine the possibility of offloading 98.54 percent of Filipinos? Hindi po ito ‘margin of error’,” Villanueva said Wednesday.

Zubiri, on the other hand, said there ought to be a better way to protect Filipino travellers without impeding their right to travel.

The guidelines were also met with criticisms by the general public, with many saying that the additional documents listed down for Filipinos leaving abroad, whether as tourists or overseas workers, would result in longer lines at the airport.

Under the revised rules, an immigration officer can ask a Filipino traveling as a tourist to show proof of financial capacity, and if sponsored by a relative (except by a spouse, parent or child), to provide an affidavit of support notarized by the relevant Philippine consulate or embassy abroad, and other documentary proof proving their relationship.

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If sponsored by an immediate family member, the traveller must produce an original copy of a birth or marriage certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority to prove their relationship.

For OFWs, apart from the overseas employment certificate (OEC) issued by the relevant authorities they may still be asked to show proof of their current employment, like an employment visa and contract.

The DOJ and the Bureau of Immigration said earlier that the revised guidelines did not impose new requirements but only listed down the documents that need to be presented to Immigration officers.

Remulla also claimed that only a small portion of the passengers, like two to three percent, would be affected.

For the remaining 97%, he said they will only be asked to show basic requirements, like a passport with at least six months’ validity, a return air ticket for tourists, a visa if required, and proof of accommodation.

Despite the suspension of the revised rules’ implementation, Remulla said these basic guidelines will still have to be followed.