A Filipina was stopped from leaving the country after being caught with a fake departure stamp she allegedly got from a fixer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.
“These fixers will promise quick processing by circumventing laws,” warned BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.
“If you want to work abroad, do so legally and do not be enticed by these offers,” Viado said.
He said the 37-year-old Filipina was intercepted by immigration officers at the NAIA Terminal 3 last Tuesday, Jan. 21, before she could board her flight to the Netherlands.
Citing a report from BI Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) Chief Mary Jane Hizon, the BI said the Filipina initially claimed to be a tourist
“However, upon presenting her passport for inspection, officers noted the suspicious immigration clearance stamp on her passport,” it said.
“Upon verification with the BI’s forensic documents laboratory, it was confirmed that the said stamp was indeed counterfeit,” it disclosed.
It said the Filipina admitted “she sought the services of a fixer she met at the lobby of NAIA 3, who offered her immigration assistance.”
“She said that the fixer asked her to submit her passport and meet another colleague who was wearing a white shirt and a face mask. The fixer then returned the victim’s passport and asked her to wait at the entrance for the supposed escort,” the bureau said.
“She lamented that she was made to wait for 45 minutes but no one approached her,” it added.
The intercepted Filipina has been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance.