A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured the public that the agency is now imposing stricter guidelines on the release of travel permits to children through the newly-launched Minors Traveling Abroad (MTA) system to prevent child trafficking and other crimes against children.
“Doon po sa ating manual transaction before, pwedeng-pwedeng mag-transact kahit sino basta may special power of attorney (SPA). This time, mas strict po kami sa paggawa ng account [sa system]. We only allow three persons to create an account—parents, legal guardians, and travel companions,” Assistant Secretary Ada Colico of the DSWD’s Protective Programs told reporters during the Saturday News Forum on March 15 at the Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Asst. Secretary Colico said the agency now requires the presence of the traveling children— together with his/her parents, legal guardians, or travel companion—during the video conferencing, which is part of the application process.
“Pangalawa, sinisigurado po namin na present ang parents, legal guardians, travel companion, at yung bata sa video conferencing. Before kasi, children or minors don’t need to appear sa physical na transaction. Dati parents lang o yung may SPA lang, pwede na mag-apply,” the DSWD official explained to reporters.
According to Asst. Secretary Colico, part of the stricter guidelines is the agency’s partnership with other government agencies concerned with international travel, anti- trafficking, and child protection.
“Pangatlo, mas mahigpit po ang aming engagement and partnership with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); Bureau of Immigration (BI); Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC); Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); and Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT),” Asst. Secretary Colico said.
Apart from the imposed guidelines on the application through the MTA system, home visitations are also being conducted by local social welfare and development officers (LSWDO) if the application needs further validation.
“We have measures naman po kasi if we see na may inconsistencies sa data, may red flag, we make sure that we validate it further. Ang ginagawa po namin dyan, we are referring to our LSWDO and we have them visited talaga sila sa bahay,” the DSWD official said.
Asst. Secretary Colico added: “Hindi po kami basta-basta nag-a-approve especially may nakita po kaming mga red flag or concern na dapat pa naming i-investigate.”
As of press time, there are more than 2,000 applications received through the online MTA system.
Of this figure, eight applications have been disapproved by the DSWD due to inconsistencies with the submitted requirements and/or fictitious purpose of travel or institutions to be visited.
The issuance of the MTA permit is a service of the Department for minors travelling alone or those accompanied by individuals other than their parents and/or legal guardians.