Hong Kong-bound Filipino yields fake job certificate

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / ALEXIS CORPUZ

Immigration agents intercepted a 27-year-old woman bound for Hong Kong after she presented a falsified employment certificate.

According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the passenger was traveling from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Dec. 30, with plans to take a connecting flight to Hong Kong from Malaysia.

She initially posed as an overseas Filipino worker and submitted an overseas employment certificate (OEC) as part of her travel requirements.

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However, the joint verification system of the BI and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) flagged the OEC as unregistered.

Further checks by DMW personnel confirmed the document was counterfeit and issued under another person’s name. During questioning, the passenger admitted she sought help from a friend in processing the OEC.

The friend, in turn, referred her to an individual in Parañaque City, who charged her P10,000 for the fake certificate.

The BI said the woman was referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and the possible filing of charges against her recruiter. —JANE BAUTISTA