Two Filipinas who were suspected to have been victimized through “fake marriages” were rescued as they tried to depart the country last April 23.
The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) reported that the two victims attempted to depart on board a flight bound for China with their supposed Chinese husbands at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
The victims, aged 36 and 24, claimed to be China-bound to visit the families of their alleged husbands.
Alias “Maria” presented a certificate of marriage from the office of the civil registrar, but admitted that she did not sign any marriage document and no ceremony took place.
She stated that she was merely asked to provide her birth certificate, and their supposed marriage documents were just processed by a friend.
Meanwhile, alias “Lia” presented a 2023 Philippine Statistics Authority marriage certificate with an apostille certification.
However, the victim admitted that the certificate was merely processed by her husband through an agent, and no such wedding took place.
She later claimed that they had a supposed renewal of vows in 2024, and presented an affidavit signed by two witnesses.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that most of the victims of this modus operandi are women from the provinces who are unaware of procedures for getting married.
“We have noticed that there is a trend that women hailing form provinces that are less familiar with procedures are the main targets of this modus. Previous repatriations show that victims are made to work in the household without renumeration,” he explained.
The victims and their supposed Chinese husbands were turned over to the inter-agency council against trafficking for filing of appropriate cases against the recruiters and escorts.
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