Over 38,000 likely human trafficking victims barred from leaving in 2019

MORE THAN 38,000 potential human trafficking victims were stopped from leaving the country last year, the Bureau of Immigration reported on Sunday. Commissioner Jaime H. Morente, in a statement, said the 38,522 people who were barred from departing the country in 2019 was 16% higher than the almost 33,000 the previous year, an indication of the agency’s stricter monitoring and vigilance. “We are duty-bound to remove them from harm’s way,” he said. Ports Operations Division Chief Grifton SP. Medina said those who were not allowed failed to meet the requirements as listed in the guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). Mr. Medina said the guidelines are intended to combat human trafficking and illegal migration at the country’s ports of exit. Ma. Timotea Barizo, chief of the travel control and enforcement unit, said about 85% of those barred in 2018 were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while the rest were stopped at the airports of Mactan, Clark, Iloilo, Kalibo, and Davao, mostly for misrepresentation or submission of fraudulent documents. More than 400 where handed to the IACAT for investigation and filing of charges against their handlers and recruiters, Ms. Barizo added. The US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report has maintained the Tier 1 rating given to the country, which means the Philippines “fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has continually demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to combat the crime.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas