A woman carrying a forged passport stamp was intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on October 11. The 32-year-old, whose identity is kept confidential in line with anti-trafficking laws, was stopped while attempting to board a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Vietnam.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reported that the woman presented her passport with a counterfeit departure stamp, hoping to convince immigration officers that she had already undergone exit clearance procedures. She initially claimed she was traveling alone for leisure in Vietnam.
Due to suspicions about the stamp’s authenticity, immigration officers referred her for further investigation. During the inquiry, she admitted that after her visit to Vietnam, she planned to proceed to Thailand and later apply for a visa to Egypt, lured by promises of an easy visa approval process.
The woman revealed that she was initially asked to pay Php 80,000 for the fake stamp but managed to negotiate the cost down to Php 65,000. Forensic examination of her passport confirmed the stamp was indeed counterfeit.
Similar cases have previously surfaced, with syndicates charging large sums for fake stamps, falsely assuring victims they could bypass immigration checks. The woman has since been handed over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance in pursuing legal action against her recruiters.#
