By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – Two female would-be overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were barred from boarding their separate flights after presenting dubious travel documents, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Monday.
In a statement, Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado noted that the BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) stopped the victims on separate occasions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City.
The first victim, a 30-year-old female, was intercepted on Feb. 4 before she could board a Cebu Pacific flight to Nagoya, Japan.
“She presented a Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) certificate, which was easily flagged as unregistered by the BI-CFO system,” he said.
The CFO certificate is a travel document required for first-time Filipino immigrants.
On the other hand, a 34-year-old female was intercepted before she could board an AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 7
“The victim’s overseas employment certificate (OEC) number, listed under a different name in the BI-DMW database, revealed tampering,” Viado added.
The BI chief attributed the apprehension to the successful system integration with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) as a significant step in curbing the proliferation of fake documents.
He stated that the system integration aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to streamline operations and enhance interagency connectivity.
Earlier, the BI and DMW integrated their databases to streamline services for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), while BI and CFO collaborated to verify Filipinos in intermarriages and bi-national relationships.
“This underscores the effectiveness of the interoperability, making it significantly harder for illegal workers and human trafficking victims to go undetected,” said Viado. (PNA)
