OFFICERS of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted a Filipina trafficking victim after presenting a fake Belgian passport she bought from Tiktok.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco shared that the interception occurred last September
5 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
The Filipina victim, identified as Josephine in her Belgian passport, attempted to depart
for Ercan, Cyprus via a Kuwait Airlines flight.
Josephine was initially presented her Belgian passport to immigration authorities, claiming
that she was transiting from Kuwait to Izmar, Turkey.
However, immigration officers noted numerous inconsistencies on her passport and
supposed arrival stamps. The matter was immediately escalated to the Duty Supervisor, who in
turn submitted the documents for forensic screening.
The BI’s forensic documents laboratory confirmed that Josephine’s passport, residence
card, and immigration stamps were all counterfeit.
She was about to be arrested for being an illegal alien after insisting that she is Belgian,
when she admitted that she has a Philippine passport and used to be an overseas Filipino worker
in Israel.
She was deported from Israel earlier this year for working without a valid visa, but
came across a Tiktok video offering EU passports to travel visa-free to multiple countries.
She allegedly paid a total of PhP 700,000 for her fake documents. She was promised
work in Greece as a caregiver, with an offer of PhP 180,000 salary per month.
Josephine was immediately turned over to the inter-agency council against trafficking
(IACAT) for assistance and filing of appropriate charges against her recruiter.
About the Author
