DoJ told to ensure right to travel amid anti-trafficking drive
THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) should ensure that the right to travel is not impeded in its efforts to curb human trafficking and illegal recruitment at airports, a Philippine senator said on Tuesday.
At a plenary session tackling the proposed P35.45-billion budget of the DoJ and its attached agencies for next year, Senator Aquilino D. Pimentel III said authorities should implement the BI electronic gate system without making the process tedious for Filipinos who want to travel.
“I know we need to balance this system (e-Gate) with our desire to provide our fellow Filipinos with less hassle in going out of the country with our concern with human trafficking and illegal recruitment,” he said.
Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, said the panel allocated P2.67 billion for the bureau’s information and communication technology (ICT) projects next year, which includes the e-Gate system at major Philippine airports.
Mr. Angara noted that the e-Gates are equipped with state-of-the-art security features such as facial recognition and biometric scanning to help identify criminals. The DoJ has a total proposed ICT budget of P5.8 billion for next year.
The Senate ended deliberations on the DoJ’s budget next year, pending amendments.
Meanwhile, senators swiftly approved the Office of the Ombudsman’s proposed P5.34-billion budget for next year after no lawmaker raised questions during the session.
Earlier, Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires asked Congress to reduce the proposed P51.47-million confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) to only P1 million, saying his office can function without it. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
