FREEZING ON REVISED TRAVEL RULES LAUDED
A House leader lauded the Department of Justice (DOJ) for postponing the imposition of additional requirements on Filipinos, including migrant workers, going abroad.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said the decision protects the citizens’ right to travel, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, and their right to privacy, which is safeguarded under the Data Privacy Act.
The DOJ heads the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), which had voted to impose stricter travel rules starting on Sunday by requiring additional travel documents and giving immigration officers wider discretion to determine the qualification and purpose of a departing passenger.
Among the additional requirements was proof of financial capacity or source of income.
Rodriguez said this particular imposition would have violated a passenger’s right to privacy.
He urged Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to scrap the stricter travel rules, instead of just delaying their enforcement.
“I am sure Secretary Remulla, who is a good lawyer, knows the implications of the additional regulations on the right to travel and the right to privacy,” he said.
Rodriguez, who served as immigration commissioner during the Estrada administration, was among those who voiced opposition to the imposition of more travel requirements.
“Those are unreasonable rules. They will give Filipino tourists, overseas Filipino workers and other travelers a lot of inconvenience, and they could make them vulnerable to harassment and extortion by corrupt immigration officers and other airport personnel,” he said in earlier statement.
He said the IACAT was allowing immigration officers to exercise “subjective judgment, whims and discretion” on departing passengers.
