Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has assured the public that the new online portal, which streamlines the application for travel clearance of minors travelling abroad, is equipped with enhanced measures to safeguard children from potential risks of trafficking.
Secretary Gatchalian said in an interview over TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Wednesday (February 26) that the objective of the online portal for ‘Minors Travelling Abroad’ or MTA is to make things easier for parents and their children who can do the application in the comforts of their homes or offices.
The DSWD chief also explained to TeleRadyo Serbisyo the digitized MTA will address the flaws of the previous manual process.
“Dati-rati, pino-protektahan natin yung menor de edad pero hindi namin nakikita yung menor de edad. Pwede i-assign lang na magbigay ka ng Special Power of Attorney (SPA). The reason kaya hindi nakikita yung bata dahil nasa school siya,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
A travel clearance is a requirement by the DSWD for minors or individuals below 18 years old who are travelling outside the Philippines and are not accompanied by any of the parents or persons having parental responsibility or legal custody over the child.
The new digital process for MTA application also serves as the government’s measure to protect children and prevent child trafficking.
As for the new system of obtaining the MTA document, the online application would require a virtual meeting, where the parents, their child or children, and the accompanying adult (if applicable) would be interviewed by the agency’s social workers.
According to Secretary Gatchalian, this is a major upgrade from the old process, where the
social worker could barely interact with concerned persons.
“Yung sa bagong system natin, online na. May interview process online. Pwede kang pumili ng schedule doon na gabi mo gagawin, para yung bata nandon kasi maganda pa rin pag interview na katabi mo yung bata at naka-login rin dapat yung… kung yung teacher na sasama sa trip o yung adult na sasama sa trip,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
The portal would also only accept QR-coded or notarized documentary requirements to ensure the legitimacy of documents, according to the DSWD chief.
Secretary Gatchalian also told TeleRadyo Serbisyo that the DSWD recently signed a data sharing agreement with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) which is aimed at ramping up inter-agency coordination and safety nets.
“Pumirma kami sa Bureau of Immigration ng data sharing agreement, so sa madaling panahon i-lilink na nila system nila sa system namin. So anong ibig sabihin pag nasa airport ka, let’s say nakalusot ka parin sa amin, sa social worker namin, at nakapa naman nung Bureau of Immigration officer doon sa counter na parang may mali, they can log in to our system ang look at it again,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
With these new digital mechanisms in place, Secretary Gatchalian said the public is assured of a better experience that strengthens the government’s campaign against human-trafficking.
“Sa utos ng ating Pangulo, una labanan ang human trafficking, pangalawa i-automate para maging mas madali sa taong bayan. Yang dalawa na-check na namin ang box na yan with
MTA,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
