IMMIGRATION LINE. Passengers line up at the immigration counter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on June 4, 2023. Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Friday (Sept. 1) urged the Department of Justice to simply scrap the imposition of additional requirements on Filipinos going abroad to protect their rights to travel and privacy. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Friday lauded Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for postponing the imposition of additional requirements on Filipinos going abroad and adding that it is better to scrap the revised guidelines.

“The decision protects our citizens’ right to travel, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, and their right to privacy, which is safeguarded under the Data Privacy Act,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

But instead of just delaying the enforcement of the additional travel rules, he urged the DOJ “to simply scrap the new requirements.”

“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,” said the lawmaker, who served as immigration commissioner during the Estrada administration

The DOJ heads the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), which voted to impose stricter travel rules supposedly to start Sept. 3, 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, which Rodriguez called an imposition that would have violated a passenger’s right to privacy.

“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 added.

He said the IACAT was allowing immigration officers to exercise “subjective judgment, whims and discretion” on departing passengers.

“I am afraid that’s where extortion, harassment and corruption will arise,” Rodriguez said. (PNA)