Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25) — The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Friday said travelers going to a visa-free country are more required to present proof of financial capacity if authorities see signs of possible human trafficking.
“’Yung requirements na ‘to, ‘yung financial capacity, mas kakailanganin ‘yan sa mga visa-free countries,” Justice Undersecretary and IACAT head Nicholas Ty told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
[Translation: These requirements, this financial capacity, is more needed for visa-free countries.]
Ty explained this is because most cases of human trafficking among Filipinos involve such nations, especially in the ASEAN region where Filipino tourists don’t need a visa.
“If you remember, the past few years, we really had this problem with Filipinos who were trafficked across the region in ASEAN countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand. They posed as tourists but they ended up working in POGOs, scam hubs there,” he said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier revealed that human trafficking syndicates are luring Filipinos with job offers, only for them to be forced to work as crypto scammers in Cambodia and Myanmar.
To address the country’s human trafficking problem, IACAT recently issued revised guidelines for Filipinos traveling overseas. Ty said these formalized existing requirements and rationalized the process for passengers.
