OFWs to continue protest vs new travel requirements

MANILA, Philippines — Until the revised rules are finally shelved, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to protest against new travel requirements proposed by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the labor group Migrante International vowed.

The group, while welcoming the Department of Justice decision to suspend the IACAT policy which increases the documentary requirements for Filipino travelers, said OFWs must stay vigilant to stop its revival.

“This suspension is a temporary victory of OFWs,” it said as it called on all OFWs to be on the lookout for efforts to revive the much-hated policy.

The justice department earlier claimed that the revised rules were not meant to “burden the general public” and aimed only to “enhance the overall experience of departing passengers.”

But the proposed rules received a backlash for imposing stricter travel requirements on Filipinos traveling abroad and possibly subjecting them to more long-winded questions from immigration officers and other airport personnel.

Lawmakers also said these might affect the Filipinos’ right to travel and right to data privacy.

According to Migrante, the policy suspension is a result of the legitimate demand to junk the policy and widespread opposition from OFWs, migrant Filipinos and various sectors of society.

“Our protests will continue until the policy is finally shelved and no longer threatens Filipino travelers and OFWs,” it stressed, as it backed the resolution filed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada calling for an investigation into the policy.

It added that aside from rights violation, the policy also increases the burden that OFWs shoulder and does not address the root causes of human trafficking.

“The government should go after human traffickers and not their victims. It can only counter human trafficking effectively if it starts creating decent jobs at home – and stop its intensification of the country’s labor export program,” Migrante said.