OFW Party List Representative Marissa “Del Mar” Magsino delivered a privilege speech today on the need to strike a fair balance between aggressive enforcement versus restrictive implementation and abuse of departure formalities.
In her privilege speech, the party list solon emphasized the need to reform the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) policies on departure formalities in light of our fight against illegal recruitment and human trafficking and reports of unreasonable offloading of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Illegal recruitment and human trafficking have been evolving as characterized by ‘third country’ recruitment where victims are given documents for one country but end up being deployed in another, combined with the abuse of on-line technologies to facilitate execution of the ploy. For this reason, the Bureau if Immigration has been trying to stringently screen outbound Filipinos.
However, Magsino also mentioned reports of unholy connivance of some unscrupulous immigration personnel with illegal recruiters and traffickers as reported by repatriated victims. Some trafficking victims have narrated that they were able to leave the country through the “escort service” provided by some Immigration personnel.
“We have a bigger fight now against illegal recruiters and human traffickers, thus the need to reform our policies on departure formalities being enforced by the Bureau of Immigration. Higit dito, kailangan linisin ng BI ang kanilang hanay. Mas humihirap ang ating laban kapag ang mga kawaning dapat sumugpo ng problema ang siyang kasabwat ng mga kawatan,” said Magsino.
Magsino also discussed another problem that emerges side by side the enforcement of departure formalities: some over-reaching or abuse may have been, or are being committed by some bureau personnel in the process resulting to offloading of legitimate OFWs.
Reports of unscrupulous Immigration personnel asking for specific amounts from OFWs to avoid being offloaded have also reached the OFW Party List.
“Off-loading at the immigration makes OFWs spend more, especially if they have to rebook their tickets and other reservations made, or book a new flight and reservations altogether. Most importantly, these unreasonable restrictions or their abusive implementation violate OFWs’ right to travel and work abroad, and could serve as windows of opportunities for bribery and corruption.”, said Rep. Marissa “Del Mar” Magsino.
To balance the fight against illegal recruitment and human trafficking and fairness toward legitimate OFWs, the OFW Party List emphasized the urgency of reforming the Bureau of Immigration.
In particular, the OFW Party List Representative cited the need to address conflicting policies and guidelines from a realistic and balanced perspective between effective enforcement and respect for human rights; improve the merit and disciplinary schemes to attract the best people and weed out the bad elements from the institution; conduct continuous trainings for personnel to enhance professionalism and strengthen the institution’s enforcement and implementation capabilities; and finalize the revision of Guidelines on Departure Formalities for International-Bound Filipino Passengers with thorough consultation with Overseas Filipino Workers; and lastly, update the existing legal framework by the passing a new Philippine Immigration Law that would enable the Bureau of Immigration to fulfill its mandate and perform its duties more effectively.
“The Bureau of Immigration is crucial in our fight against illegal recruitment and human trafficking and in facilitating our OFWs’ right to travel and work abroad. Thus, it is imperative that we strengthen the agency through the policies governing them, as well as support initiatives in cleansing its ranks. Nais natin masiguro na mapupuno ang BI ng tapat na mga kawani upang magawa nito nang tama ang kanilang mandato,” said Magsino.
