BI: Strict inspection for travelers from countries with human trafficking cases

INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said that some travelers face stricter immigration procedures, specifically those coming from countries with reported cases of trafficking Filipino workers.

“Meron po tayong certain locations na tinitignan dahil po sa recent issues, ang tinitignan po kasi ng immigration is ‘yung pattern kung saan po ‘yung foreign nationals who are abusing immigration laws are coming from,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval told reporters.

(There are certain locations that we are looking at because of recent issues, because what the immigration is looking at is the pattern where the foreign nationals who are abusing immigration laws are coming from.)

“So ito pong ilan sa mga bansang ito ay pinaghihigpitan po ng ating pamunuan para masigurado na hindi natin makikita muli ang mga issues po relating to illegal activities,” she added.

(So some of these countries are being required to undergo stricter procedures by our leadership to make sure that we will not see issues related to illegal activities happening again.)

When asked what countries he was referring to, Sandoval said it included countries like Vietnam and Malaysia.

“I think there are three or four countries, mostly asian countries, na pinababantayan ng ating pamunuan dahil sa issues on trafficking of workers [which we were tasked to be on heightened alert by our leadership because of issues on trafficking of workers],” she explained.

Sandoval then bared that the BI is now coordinating with airports to ensure that all entry and exit points are being monitored to further intensify security.

Other government agencies are also assigned in the entrances and exits being tagged as “weakpoints,” said Sandoval, adding that the BI is now already coordinating with the inter-agency council against trafficking.

“Because trafficking is not just a job of the immigration, there are a lot of other agencies that are in charge of ensuring na hindi po nata-traffic ang ating mga kababayan [that our countrymen are not falling victims to trafficking],” said Sandoval.

According to Sandoval, no immigration staff had been determined to be involved in the latest cases of human trafficking, but affirmed that BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco remains ready to file the “harshest penalty” should an employee or officer be discovered to be involved.

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JPV