Whereas, the freedom to travel of every Filipino is enshrined in our Constitution as an inalienable right;

Whereas, various requests from other government agencies that impose restrictions and requirements that infringe on the right of Filipinos to travel and unreasonably discriminate by reason of station in life, gender, religion and age are hereby removed to avoid bureaucratic red tape and to prevent a breeding ground and opportunity for corruption; and

Whereas, the vacillating requests for the Bureau by the other government agencies to be strict and then to relax and then to be strict again on immigration departure formalities have created a vicious cycle that opens the Bureau and its officials vulnerable to unverified complaints and reports that are hearsay and render them liable to court suits and unnecessary litigation;

WHEREFORE, based on the foregoing premises, and effective immediately, all concerned Bureau of Immigration personnel are hereby instructed to allow the departure of Filipinos who have valid passports, valid visas where required and round trip tickets when necessary without requiring other documents to be submitted except those that maybe required by existing laws such as Authority to Travel issued by the Department of Social and Welfare Development to unaccompanied Filipino minors.

Adopted: 09 June 2003

(SGD.) ANDREA D. DOMINGO
  Commissioner