THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) affirmed on Friday that there will be no letup in its campaign against human trafficking as it reported that more than 43,000 people were barred from leaving the Philippines during the past year for failure to comply with travel requirements.

The bureau issued the statement after the US State Department released its 2017 Trafficking in Persons report, which placed the country to Tier 1, due to the its sustained efforts against human trafficking.

The report also hailed the country’s “proactive screening procedures,” which is the main responsibility of the immigration officers stationed in different international airports and seaports.

“Our immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other ports of entry will remain vigilant in screening outbound Filipino travelers to make sure that they do not fall prey to human traffickers and illegal recruiters,” BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said.

The report also commended the bureau’s accomplishment on stopping 118 foreign registered sex offenders from entering the country last year.

BI Port Operations Division Chief Marc Red A. Mariñas said that immigration officers in the different ports offloaded total of 43,233 Filipino travelers from July 2016 to June 2017.

Mr. Mariñas said that the passengers’ trips were deferred pending compliance with certain requirements which aimed to prove that they are legitimate tourists and not “tourist workers,” a term used for undocumented overseas workers disguised as travelers. — Jil Danielle M. Caro

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