Uninformed Pinoys in UAE score new travel rules

Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates continue to hit the Philippine Consulate General there for its failure to properly explain tighter travel rules imposed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Manila. In an article on the UAE news site Khaleej Times, an official of the Consulate admitted the Philippine post does not have enough personnel to handle the influx of applicants. "We do lack manpower to accommodate all of them as this is an additional task to our already heavily laden staff. We did not expect a heavy turnout of applicants. The process will ensure that the visitor has a sure sponsor in the UAE," Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano said in the article. The new rule requires UAE-based Filipinos to have their affidavit of support or declaration of sponsorship authenticated by the consulate. The process costs about P1,000. (See: New travel rule for Filipinos in Dubai scored.) Valeriano earlier said the new rule aims to protect Filipinos from falling prey to human traffickers. Long queues But the Khaleej Times report said Filipinos in Dubai and Northern Emirates complained of having to fall in long queues at the Philippine consulate, with many of them falling in line as early as 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the opening time of the Consulate. "The situation at the Philippine Consulate General is a picture of hassle and red-tapism as seen by the hundreds of people there. Yet, none of them know that the slow process is due to the lack of manpower," the Khaleej Times reported. Stopped at airport Many people scheduled to leave from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last week were stopped by immigration officials and their luggage ordered off-loaded from the aircraft. Interviewed by Khaleej Times, Divina Jimenez, 30, said her sister and brother-in-law, along with hundreds of Dubai-bound passengers, were instructed to go to a lounge as they reached the immigration area. "My sister told me that the Immigration Supervisor told them that they could not leave Manila unless the affidavit of support, which we sent them together with their original visit visa, is notarized at the Philippine Consulate here," she said. She said the BI did not give any consideration to her sister whose visa and unauthenticated affidavit of support, which used to be the requirement before, were sent to Manila before the implementation of the new rule. "The immigration officials could have considered those departing passengers whose visa was released by the UAE before the new rule took effect in August," she said. Her husband Michael Jeff said BI should have informed all travel agencies a month before the enforcement so they could advise all Filipino sponsors in the UAE. "Now, we are paying Dh100 for the authentication, Dh500 more for courier to send it to Manila, and an airline fine that runs to US$50 for no show," he said. No info desk Anthony Bartolo, 39, also told Khaleej times that he dropped by the Consulate on his way to his office. "I did not know that the place would be so crowded that I had to stay outside and wait for long hours. I hope there will be an information desk or some announcements posted outside," he said. Rossana Nabung, 46, had meanwhile been in the consulate since 7:30 a.m. but she had been in the queue still at noon. "I am filing a declaration of support for the son of my distant relative, Christopher Baraca. I have spent US$1,300 for a round trip ticket and visa. His return ticket is not a dummy and he is flying to Dubai by October 4. Yet, here I am still queuing up to comply with this new requirement," she said. "I don’t even know when I can have the authenticated document back. One day or seven days, I do not know," she added. Catalina Medina is similarly worried of the time spent in the long queue and when she could get her papers authenticated. "My sister-in-law is flying to Dubai on Sept. 23 and I am not sure now whether she will receive it in Manila before this date," she said. Similar policy in Macau Meanwhile, OFWs in Macau are likewise up in arms against the policy on the authenticated affidavit of support, which was reinstated in June the Chinese special administrative region. Migrante-Macau coordinator Catalina Yamat said the travel policy has been repeatedly scrapped and reinstated at least three times in the past years since 2003. The affidavit of support in Macau costs 220 patacas (about P1,200). "The affidavit of support requirement in Macau has been suspended twice as a result of protests from the Filipino community there. It is unclear until now if the AOS is a requirement from Macau authorities or the Philippine government alone," Migrante said in a statement. A petition letter has already been initiated by Migrante and the Filipino Migrant Ministry to question the legal basis of the new policy. Gabriel Women’s Party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan has likewise filed a resolution in Congress seeking a probe in the new travel rule. - KBK, GMANews.TV