Officers of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted a suspected victim of fake Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) certificate.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) said the female passenger was intercepted at the NAIA terminal 3 last July 13 before she could board a Jetstar Airlines flight to Nagoya, Japan.
According to the I-PROBES, the victim, whose identity was withheld due to a prohibition in the anti-trafficking law, reportedly claimed that she was going to visit her spouse in Japan to whom she is allegedly married.
She reportedly presented a PSA marriage certificate as proof of the couple’s wedding and a CFO Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP) certificate.
The GCP digital certificate is a mandatory seminar organized by the CFO to educate Filipinos involved in intermarriages and interracial relationships. It is a definite deterrent to mail-order spouse schemes and trafficking in the guise of marriage.
“The barcoded confirmation on the GCP certificate cannot be scanned, and it was sent to the victim’s personal email address not thru the registered email address of the CFO. This discrepancy strongly suggests that the certificate in question may be fake,” Tansingco added.
Due to the numerous inconsistencies pointed out to her, she admitted that the certificate was fake, and that it was arranged by a local fixer who is in the business of recruiting and victimizing Filipinas.
“Proliferation of fake CFO certificates will not succeed, as we rigorously monitor each issuance through a shared information system with the BI and the CFO,” warned Tansingco.
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