Binay confident on offloading guidelines

CLARK FREEPORT — Vice President Jejomar Binay is confident that the newly approved guidelines for departure of international-bound passengers by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) will boost the fight against human trafficking.
Binay, who serves as chairman emeritus of the Iacat, also acknowledged the contribution of the “offloading” policy to the decline in cases of human trafficking in the country.
“The offloading policy has contributed to our gains in drive against trafficking, and as a result, our country was elevated to Tier 2 in the US State Department’s Trafficking index. This year, we hope to be elevated to Tier 1,” he said.
The Vice President said Iacat had directed a Technical Working Group to come up with guidelines to ensure transparency and consistency in the implementation of the offloading policy, and remove any room for the exercise of personal discretion.
He said, however, that the Iacat will remain alert to the sentiments of travelers, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“We believe the new guidelines are more comprehensive since the Iacat already has a wider membership, which include non-government organizations. We made a point to incorporate all their inputs,” Binay said.
He added the government will always respect the right to travel, and that the new guidelines will hopefully balance the right to travel with the intensified campaign against trafficking.
“If there are still complaints stemming from an oversight in the guidelines, we will act and improve on them,” he said.
The new guidelines outline the requirements for the assessment of international-bound passengers based on four categories, namely: tourists, OFWs, immigrants and permanent residents, and special classes of passengers.
For tourist travelers, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is authorized to conduct a secondary inspection after the primary inspection “for the purpose of protecting vulnerable victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment and other related offenses, through the assessment of the following circumstances: age, educational attainment, and financial capability to travel.”
Any passenger who will be subjected for secondary inspection will be required to accomplish the BI Border Control Questionnaire.
Travelers will automatically be subjected to secondary inspection if they fall under the following categories:
a. Travelers without financial capacity to travel escorted/accompanied by a foreigner not related.
b. Minor traveling alone or unaccompanied by either parent or legal guardian without the required travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
c. Repatriated irregular workers in which case, travel may not be allowed without the clearance from the IACAT.
d. Partners and spouses of foreign nationals intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé without the CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate.
e. Passengers traveling to countries with existing deployment bans, alert levels and travel advisories and those in possession of a visa to the said countries.
f. For passengers intending to depart for the second or more times who stayed abroad for more than one (1) year during its previous departure as a tourist/temporary visitor.
According to the Vice President, the provision on secondary inspection was inserted to prevent tourist workers who are the more probable victims of illegal recruitment and trafficking from leaving the country.
In 2011, the government offloaded 512 international-bound passengers, of which 30 were classified as minors, 316 as tourist workers and 175 as OFWs with irregularities in their documents.
Tourist workers are those who attempt to travel for the purpose of gaining employment abroad without proper documentation, attempt to go to countries where the Philippines currently has a deployment or travel ban, or provide spurious travel documents.
The old guidelines provide that a Filipino international traveler shall not be allowed to depart whenever an Immigration officer detects a trafficking situation, which falls under the scope of Republic Act (RA) 9208 and other laws such as RA 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, among others.
In determining whether or not a Filipino traveler is in a trafficking situation, “an assessment of the totality of circumstances and available information during immigration departure formalities is required for the positive identification of a trafficking situation.”
A Filipino traveler will then be “offloaded” based on either of the categories: undocumented, improperly documented, or incompletely documented.
At the Clark International Airport, the BI has offloaded scores of international passengers, mostly women, with questionable travel documents last year.
Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on January 20, 2012.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2012/01/19/binay-confident-offloading-guidelines-201472

Over the holidays, travelers from Manila going to the north for a getaway destination choose Pampanga Angeles City and Clark Philippines as a popular holiday location. Aside from day-time sports and other activities, visitors look for a good wine shop to buy some good wine to celebrate a special occasion or just to make the holiday and vacation more enjoyable. Many wine lovers pick up some good bottles from Clark Wine Center to bring to dinner in some of the good restaurants in Angeles City, Clark Pampanga. Yats Restaurant is one of the most famous fine dining restaurants outside of Manila, located in Mimosa Leisure Estate inside Clark Airbase or Clark Freeport Zone as it is now called. This popular restaurant has become a tourist attraction, a place to visit for those who are in Pampanga, Subic, Angeles City and of course, Clark Philippines. The famous wine shop called Clark Wine Center supplies this famous restaurant in Clark Philippines as well as other good restaurants in Angeles City Pampanga with good wines of all price ranges.

Wine is becoming increasingly popular in Manila and other cities in the Philippines. Wine lovers in Manila travel to the north to visit Clark, Pampanga to shop for good and rate vintage wines at good duty-free prices. The most frequently visited liquor shop in Manila and wine shop in Pampanga is Clark Wine Center. This highly recommended wine shop located outside Manila near Angeles City, Pampanga in North Luzon is known for offering a great selection of fine vintage wine that is good quality and good value for money also.

This well-known wine shop is a famous shopping destination for wine enthusiasts in Manila and wine lovers from other cities in Asia including Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo.

Famous Philippines wine supplier known for its line of fine vintage wines, Yats Wine Cellars was established in 2000 to address the requirement of a growing population of wine enthusiasts in the Philippines. This 5-star wine shop caters to the discerning client who requires these qualities in their wines: (1) excellent value, (2) large selection of labels and vintages to choose from and (3) wines properly aged for full enjoyment.

Public wine tastings are held from time to time in Clark and sometimes in Manila. Tickets range from p500 to p1500 for these themed events that are professionally run –no wine merchants sponsorship, pushy salesmen or tacky banners to ruin the evening. Each ticket contains a certain number of stubs that can be redeemed for a tasting pour of a wine among those on a line-up which often contains wines that are quite old and expensive.

Things to do in Clark Pampanga Philippines: do a little wine shopping at the famous wine shop outside of Manila called Clark Wine Center. One of the favorite places to visit in Pampanga Clark Freeport is the white building along M A Roxas highway of Clark which houses over 2000 selections of fine vintage wines. The Clark Wine Center is one of the places to visit, a tourist spot and a good shopping place for those staying in Angeles City, Subic or Clark Pampanga. This famous wine shop is well known among wine lovers all over Asia as the best place to find rare vintage wines.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com