BI warns vs bogus overseas employment certificates

Departing passengers line up at the immigration counters of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) prior to boarding their flights in this 2017 file photo. INQUIRER files

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration on Friday warned the public against securing bogus overseas employment certificates (OECs) online.

BI made the warning after its officers intercepted in separate occasions several Filipinos who presented fake OECs as they were about to leave for work abroad.

“Our system is integrated with the database of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Hence, it is very easy for us to verify legitimate OECs. Using these fake certificates will no longer work,” BI chief Norman Tansingco said in a statement.

The bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) – Terminal 1 caught three Poland-bound Filipinos who presented spurious OECs on May 30.

BI said the victims were communicating with their recruiter through an online messaging platform.

One of the victims was female and two others were male in their 30s.

The victims had each supposedly paid around P70,000 for their recruitment and plane ticket.

On top of this, another P7,000 was asked from them to fast-track the processing of their OECs, which they later received via email.

Meanwhile, another victim was intercepted by BI personnel at Clark International Airport in Pampanga on May 28, 2023.

The person was bound for Dubai.

“He claimed to be working there as a personnel manager for a service provider and presented documents stating the same,” BI said.

But then, authorities “detected discrepancies” in his OEC through the centralized computer system.

DMW records showed the passenger’s certificate was bogus.

“The victim eventually admitted that he was able to secure his fake OEC online and paid P7,000 for it,” BI said.

All the victims have been referred to the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking for investigation.

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