MANILA, Philippines — At least 521 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were prevented from leaving the country in 2011 for having spurious travel documents.

A report from Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT)-NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons said of the 521 passengers offloaded in 2011, 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 report said.

The report prompted Vice President and Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns, Jejomar C. Binay to reiterate his call for OFWs to go through the proper channels in seeking employment abroad.

“I appeal to our kababayans to go through the required process in seeking employment abroad,” said Binay who also serves as chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and chair of the Presidential Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment.

“And if you do manage to leave the country, there is a very high risk that government will not be able to extend immediate assistance, especially in times of need,” he said.

At the same time, Binay said the IACAT is expected to receive the recommendations of the Technical Working Group tasked to formulate clear-cut guidelines for offloading to ensure transparency and to prevent abuse.

“These guidelines are intended to minimize gray areas in terms of implementation,” he said.

Binay said that the government aims to elevate the Philippines to Tier 1 status in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP).