The Bureau of Immigration (BI) disclosed that the use of forged overseas employment certificates (OEC) by trafficking victims has resurfaced. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco reported a recent case where a female passenger was apprehended attempting to use a counterfeit OEC, a crucial requirement for departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and is issued by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). The 50-year-old woman was recruited for employment as a household service worker in Hong Kong and was caught trying to board a Cebu Pacific Air flight at the Clark International Airport. The immigration officers confirmed that the travel document was fake after verification with the DMW. The female victim claimed that a friend processed her fake OEC and deceived her into believing that it had been legitimately acquired through the DMW. Tansingco emphasized that their system is integrated with the DMW which enables them to identify fraudulent certificates with relative ease. He further revealed that the BI and DMW have conducted numerous meetings to enhance systems, facilitating a smoother and more seamless processing experience for departing OFWs. "We stand firmly behind the DMW's efforts to safeguard our workers from exploitation," he  said.  The victim's case has been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation, and actions will be taken against the supplier of the counterfeit document