IACAT offices at NAIA on lockdown due to Covid-19 cases

FILE: The NAIA Centennial Terminal 2 departure hall (Photo By John Paul Solis – Johnpsolis at English Wikipedia – Photo by John Paul SolisTransferred from en.Wikipedia; en:File:Centennialphoto.jpg, Public Domain)

MANILA – The offices of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were shut down after four personnel tested positive in swab tests for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In an office order dated July 7 released on Thursday, Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, who is in charge of the IACAT, ordered all personnel, including 18 employees who underwent swab tests last July 2 to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine.

She also ordered that the IACAT offices at the three international terminals of the NAIA will be on lockdown beginning July 8 to July 22 for disinfection.

Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete, meanwhile, said that while the IACAT offices at the NAIA are on lockdown, existing protocols to detect trafficking situations remain in place.

Under these protocols, passengers suspected of being trafficked will still be referred to strict secondary inspection by the Bureau of Immigration.

The IACAT offices, meanwhile, will continue to receive reports of trafficking situations through their hotlines and on social media to act on them accordingly.

“Please note also that all other IACAT units are operational — this means our NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) Anti-Human Trafficking Division and IACAT Operations Center that are both parts of the IACAT repatriation team which handles Trafficking in Persons (TIP) cases at the NAIA and repatriation of OFWs are all operational,” Perete said.

The IACAT Repatriation Team is composed of representatives from other council member agencies which include Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Aside from the BI, IACAT also works with the NBI-International Airport Investigation Division which conducts surveillance and immediate investigation of possible trafficking cases within the airport.