MANILA – Shortly after the government publicized the revised departure guidelines for travelers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a clarification on Thursday, August 24.

During a press briefing on Thursday, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said the new requirements will mostly apply to first-time travelers: “Mostly, 90 or 95% of the time, the revised rules will be only applicable to first-time travelers. Some of them has no visa, but want to work abroad. We’re avoiding that because there is no protection.”

Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, DOJ spokesperson, clarified that the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) revised guidelines on traveling did not impose additional requirements on outbound international travelers.

“Instead, what the revised departure formalities have achieved is a formalization and streamlining of the existing requirements that pertain to different categories of travelers,” Clavano said, added that they only released the guidelines for transparency.

For more than 95% of travelers, only basic requirements would be needed, Clavano clarified. These are:

  • Passport
  • Boarding pass
  • Confirmed return ticket
  • Visa (only when required)

“The intention behind these revisions is to create a more organized and coherent framework for departure formalities. By structuring the guidelines in a clearer manner, travelers and relevant authorities can navigate the departure process more efficiently, minimizing confusion and procedural complications,” Clavano said.

The DOJ spokesperson clarified that the revised rules almost have the same requirements with the old guidelines. The justice department also explained that the documents specified in the guidelines are not absolute requirements, but only a list of supporting papers that may be asked before travel.

On Tuesday, August 22, the IACAT released the revised guidelines for FIlipino passengers traveling abroad as part of its mandate to avoid human trafficking. The revised rules were approved on August 18 and will take effect on September 3.

What are the basic requirements?

There are two levels of inspection for internationally bound Filipinos, both conducted by an immigration officer (IO).

In primary inspection, passengers must present basic travel documents:

  • Passport, valid at least six months from the departure date;
  • Valid visa, depending on the destination;
  • Boarding pass; and
  • Confirmed return or roundtrip ticket, when necessary

They then answer questions from the IO about why they are traveling. If they “sufficiently establish [their] declared purpose of travel,” the primary IO clears them for departure.

While the definition of “sufficiently established” is unclear, travelers should not be worried that they will miss their flight if, initially, they do not satisfy it. Passenger departures, at this level of inspection, will only be deferred because of fraudulent travel documents or refusal to do the inspection in the first place. 

Those who cannot adequately explain why they are going abroad are referred to secondary inspection, but there are several other reasons for this as well. These include inability to show proof of financial capacity, having stayed abroad as a tourist for over six months, or having a record of misrepresentation of travel information, among others.

In either case, the primary IO will inform the traveler of the grounds for their departure deferment or referral to secondary inspection.

Any passenger for secondary inspection is assigned to another IO, who will be more thorough with the interview and document examinations. Secondary inspections must not exceed 15 minutes. Extensions of this period are only for extraordinary circumstances.