The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has a new program that would ensure that screening procedures of international travelers in all airports and seaports would be done with utmost courtesy. The new program BI-Cares stands for “courtesy, accountability, responsibility, efficiency, and service” and it comes with the guidelines on how immigration officers should properly inspect arriving and departing international travelers.

The Immigration department started implementing the new guidelines last Monday (January 23) and one of its aims is to ensure that no Filipino traveler would be unnecessarily prevented from leaving the country. According to Immigration Commissioner, Ricardo David Jr. he strictly ordered the guidelines under the “BI CARES” program in all ports of entry as a response to complaints of Filipino tourists who were not allowed to leave the country because of suspicions that they are human trafficking victims or  undocumented overseas contract workers.

David also said that all immigration personnel in different ports had been informed about the new screening procedures. The new guidelines is said to be the result of a  month-long study and discussions by a working group of representatives from different government agencies, including the BI and non-government organizations.

David said, “We will implement these guidelines to the letter so that these issues about the alleged harassment and extortion by BI employees are finally addressed.”

Under the new procedures, OFWs with no valid overseas employment certificate (OEC) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will not be cleared for departure.

The passengers that are suspected to be victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment will be required to undergo secondary inspection. Passengers will be assessed depending on age, educational attainment and financial capacity.

The new rules has specified requirements and assessment steps depending on the category pf passengers which are: tourist travelers, OFWs, first-time and returning OFWs, immigrants or permanent visa holders abroad, and those with special purposes in going abroad.

Please visit this link for the complete immigration guidelines:

http://immigration.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1252&Itemid=103