Privilege Speech: On the IACAT Departure Guidelines
30 August 2023

Mr. President, I stand here on personal and collective privilege, as it already August 30, and I know this will be an issue three days from now, on September 3.

Mr. President, last March, nag-viral po sa social media ang isang kababayan natin na dumaan sa talagang nakakapagtakang immigration interview. Matindi pa sa job interviewer itong immigration officer na ito, kasi hindi lang passport ang hanap, kundi pati daw yearbook at graduation photo.

Napakahaba raw ng interview, pero hindi lang oras ang nawala sa ating kababayan. Ang masaklap, nawalan rin po siya ng Php19,000, na presyo ng ticket sa flight niya na hindi niya naabutan, dahil sa tagal ng tanong ng mga immigration officers na ito.

And now, again, we are looking at the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking's new set of requirements for departing Filipino travelers, and we are left wondering: is all of this absolutely necessary, Mr. President.

We are one with IACAT, of course, in finding ways to protect our people from being exploited, and finding themselves abroad with no proper employment, and no means of coming back home.

And we know that the point of departure is a crucial stage where we can act on this, and prevent our people from leaving our care and becoming victims of trafficking.

But there has to be a way to protect our people without also hampering their right to travel. This is a constitutional right, and I am glad that we have one of the bar topnotchers here and several lawyers, listening today.

Nasa Article III, Section 6 ng Constitution po natin yan, "The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health."

The constitution is not recommendatory, Mr. President, it is mandatory. As may be provided by law, that is correct, to add to that. But I don't recall in our 25 years as a legislator, that we passed a law asking the people to submit their graduation certificate and their yearbook at the airport.

It is the right of every Filipino to travel. And truth be told, we want more Filipinos to travel, domestically and internationally. Parang North Korea lamang po, Mr. President, and hindi pumapayag sa kanilang mga kababayan na mag-travel.

Ang kaso lang, minsan mas mura pa ang tickets papuntang Hong Kong o Thailand kesa lumipad pa-Boracay o Bohol. Kaya rin marami nang mga Filipino tourists ang pumupunta abroad.

If we want foreign tourists to come here, because this will boost our economy, then we also want Filipinos, who have the means, to travel abroad, because that is the sign of a healthier, more economically stable Philippines.

If we are pushing, Mr. President, for a middle income economy by 2028, you have to remember na mas marami po tayong mga kababayan na mas malaki po ang spending power nila, mas malaki po ang savings nila, at baka naman gusto nilang makabiyahe sa ibang bansa kasama ang kanilang pamilya, para maka-enjoy kahit papano.

The truth is that when a nation grows, it cultivates a growing middle class, with more spending power, more savings, and a larger capacity for travel. And since we are shooting for middle-income status by 2028, the Executive should be prepared for an increase of outbound Filipino tourists as well.

The immigration policies of old, Mr. President, will need to be adjusted to accommodate this reality. Hindi na po siguro pwede 'yung nakasanayan po natin na immigration interview strategy ngayon, dahil hindi na po ata sapat ang number ng ating immigration officers sa dami ng mga Pilipinong palabas ng bansa.

Kaya pag ba-biyahe po kayo, tignan niyo po yung airport, punong-puno ng tao doon sa immigration counters, on their way out. Ang kawawa po dito, karamihan sa kanila, na-offload dahil sa profiling. It's not racial profiling, it's economic profiling.

Kung makita, hindi magaling mag-English, hindi maganda ang kasuotan, hindi pa nakaka-biyahe--automatic, 90% chance magkakaroon po ng second screening, at matataranta po yung mga pasaherong ito. At sa second screening, aabutin ng ilang oras, kaya minsan nawawalang-bisa na po yung ticket nila, at hindi lamang yun, pati 'yung bayad sa hotel--kasi ipapakita niyo po sa immigration officer na nakabayad na po kayo sa hotel sa ibang bansa. Eh kung na-offload po sila, edi wala na. Goodbye, Philippines na po yung hotel reservation nila.

Add to that the ridiculous amount of requirements that our immigration officers have to inspect, eh talagang magkakaroon po ng delays at missed flights.

We don't want to discourage our people from flying out, exploring other cultures, and enjoying the hard-earned fruits of their labor. Ayaw naman po natin maging North Korea, na sobrang higpit ng travel policy, at halos business travels na lang ang naaaprubahan.

We have to find better, more efficient immigration strategies going forward-- strategies that protect our people, but don't curtail their constitutional right to travel.

Look at what our neighbors in Thailand are doing, for instance. From January to October 2022, their Department of Employment reported only 383 workers denied departure to prevent them from working illegally overseas. That same year, our Bureau of Immigration offloaded a whopping 32,404 Filipinos.

Granted, we have a larger population, but it is still worth asking: are we screening more strictly, or are they simply screening more efficiently?

And I'd like to also provide guess that this may also cause alarm and contribute to corruption. Dahil ang balita sa amin, pagdating po sa secondary screening, private room na po iyan. Kung anu-ano pang transaksyon ang pwedeng mangyari sa private room na iyan. That is prone to so much corruption.

Ang nakakasama pa po, pasok nang pasok tayo ng POGO workers, ng kung sino-sino pang mga misfits from other countries, but we don't even allow our dutiful Filipino citizens to travel when they want to.

Kasabay po kasi ng screening ng Thailand sa kanilang borders, mismong mga recruitment agencies po ang target nila for inspection.

Ito rin ang kailangan nating palakasin dito sa Pilipinas. We have to bear down on these illegal recruiters, because this is where the chain of exploitation starts.

Hindi po tatayo sa immigration counters at lilipad sa ibang bansa ang mga trafficked persons kung hindi po inaya to ng mga illegal recruiters. 'Yan ang dapat hulihin, ang mga sindikatong iyan.

Bago pa umabot sa airport ang mga kababayan natin dala ang pekeng mga dokumento galing sa kanilang illegal recruiters, nakuhanan na sila ng napakaraming pera ng mga recruiters na ito. 'Yan ang dapat targetin ng ating Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Labor and Employment.

They don't become victims once they arrive abroad. They become victims as soon as these recruiters prey on them right here on our shores.

I have a friend who went to Japan--first time traveler po--ang binanggit niya sa akin dito, he just barely missed his flight, tatlong oras po ang paghawak sa kanya ng immigration. Katakot-takot po na mga requirements ang hiningi, that he had to get from his family in the province to send to him by Viber, to show and present to the Bureau of Immigration. Hinanap pa po nila itong mga high school diploma and college diploma.

Alam niyo po pagdating niya sa Japan, nag-smile lang po ang Japanese immigration officer, tinatakan siya, have a good day! All of two seconds. Napakadali po sa ibang bansa. Tayo dito, perwisyo ang tinatanggap ng ating mga travelers. Talagang perwisyo.

So if we can cut the problem at the level of these illegal recruiters, then we would not have to ask for ridiculous requirements from every Filipino traveler before departure.

Let us not victimize Filipino travelers with inefficiency. There are real perpetrators that we can target here, mainly illegal recruiters, and we must go after them, instead of burdening everyone else.

Huwag nating iparamdam sa mga Pilipino na kailangan pa nilang patunayan ang lahat ng detalye ng buhay at kabuhayan nila para lang makalipad abroad. Karapatan po nating lahat ito, at hindi na po dapat tayo pahirapan para dito.

Again, let me remind everyone, it is our constitutional right. and the constitution is not recommendatory, it is mandatory. Until the Bureau of Immigration can show me a law that we have passed that says that they need to submit all these requirements, I remain skeptical. And I'm asking our dear colleagues in this chamber to support us in this issue to be able to allow our kababayans the freedom to travel.

Maraming salamat po, Mr. President.