Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are holding steadfast in their protests against the newly proposed travel requirements by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), despite a temporary suspension of the policy by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Labor group Migrante International has reiterated their commitment to ensuring that the revised rules, which demand increased documentary requirements for Filipino travelers, are permanently discarded. They have championed the DOJ’s decision to suspend the policy but emphasize that this is only a “temporary victory.”
In response to the backlash, the justice department had previously stated that the changes were devised to “enhance the overall experience of departing passengers” rather than burdening the populace. However, the critics argue that the enhanced regulations would infringe on Filipinos’ right to travel freely and could potentially violate data privacy rights. The opposition believes that these rules would subject travelers to prolonged interrogations by immigration officers and additional scrutiny by airport personnel.
Migrante International credited the policy’s suspension to the widespread opposition from various sectors of the society, including OFWs and migrant Filipinos. They maintain that the protests will persist until the proposed policy is officially withdrawn, preventing any potential repercussions on Filipino travelers and OFWs.
Supporting Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s call for an investigative resolution, the labor group stressed the necessity to focus on the underlying issues of human trafficking rather than imposing an additional burden on the OFWs. Migrante pointed out that creating decent job opportunities at home could effectively curb human trafficking, urging the government to abandon its labor export program’s intensification.
In their statement, Migrante International emphasized, “The government should go after human traffickers and not their victims.”
The group has vowed to remain vigilant against any efforts to revive the policy, encouraging all OFWs to actively participate in halting the resuscitation of the “much-hated policy.”