Quezon City: The new online system for the application for travel clearance of minors travelling abroad (MTA) is a vital tool in expediting transactions and doing away with the interventions of 'fixers' and middlemen, a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) official said on Thursday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the digital system for MTA permit application, which was launched on Feb. 18, is in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to automate and streamline government processes, and fight human trafficking.
In a media forum at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City, Assistant Secretary Ada Colico of the DSWD's Protective Programs explained that the newly launched system only allows parents or guardians to apply for minors' travel clearance.
A travel clearance is issued by the DSWD for minors or individuals below 18 years old travelling outside the Philippines who are not accompanied by any of the parents or persons having parental responsibility or legal custody over the child.
Colico emphasized, "Ang pwede lang pong gumawa ng account para sa ating MTA is una, the parents, the accompanying adult o guardian, other than that hindi po pwede ang fixer kasi ang kailangan po natin sa account na ito ay identifying information ng magulang o companion."
In the old manual system, Colico noted that the process was time-consuming on the part of parents and guardians, which often prompted them to rely on the services of middlemen such as travel agents, or worse, fixers, to obtain travel clearance or certificate of exemption from the DSWD.
Colico stated, "Minsan meron lang Special Power of Attorney or SPA na binibigay yung ating travel agents and sila na po yung nagpa-process ng MTA which is risky on our part, kasi tayo po ang held accountable doon."
Under the streamlined process of securing travel clearance, parents or guardians no longer need to physically visit the DSWD regional offices and can now submit their applications directly via the MTA online system.
Colico said the portal would only accept QR-coded or notarized documentary requirements to ensure the legitimacy of documents. The online application also requires 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.
Applications with complete and verified documents can be approved within the same day, with a maximum processing time of three working days. The digitized system aims to address red tape and the public's vulnerability to fixers while ensuring that minors travelling outside the country have received the full consent of their parents and legal guardians.
Colico stated, "With MTA, we have simplified, and streamlined the processing of application and we made it clients-centric, ensuring the protection of children from the perils of abuse, trafficking and other forms of exploitation."
The DSWD official also mentioned that the agency has signed a data-sharing agreement with the Bureau of Immigration and other concerned agencies under the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to ramp up inter-agency coordination and safety nets.
Spearheaded by Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the digitization of MTA complies with the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) or Republic Act (RA) 11032, which also recognizes digitalization as an essential tool in enhancing transparency and accountability in government transactions while minimizing human interventions.
