BI warns against fake overseas employment certificates sold online ---

After the Bureau of Immigration prevented several would-be overseas Filipino workers from leaving the country due to bogus overseas employment certificates, the BI warned against these fake OECs that were being sold online. “Our system is integrated with the [Department of Migrant Workers’] database, hence it is very easy for us to verify legitimate OECs,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco in a June 2, 2023 statement. “Using these fake certificates will no longer work.” The Immigration Bureau issued the warning after their Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) on Tuesday intercepted three victims who attempted to depart for Warsaw, Poland at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. The victims, a female and two males, all in their 30s, said that they were recruited online, conversing with their recruiter via a messaging app. Other Stories DMW to assist 815 OFWs affected by Kuwait visa suspension Ople: HK gov't to assist kin of OFW who fell to her death while cleaning windows Suspect in California road rage incident that led to Pinoy's death sentenced to jail They each paid around P70,000 for the recruitment and their ticket. They also paid an additional P7,000, allegedly for the expeditious processing of their OECs. They allegedly received their OECs via email. The BI's primary inspector referred the matter to the TCEU, who confirmed that the OECs were fakes. In another incident, this time at the Clark International Airport (CIA), BI officers intercepted a 28-year-old male victim who presented a counterfeit OEC. The victim attempted to depart for Dubai last May 28. He claimed to be working there as a personnel manager for a service provider and presented documents stating the same. However, the BI’s centralized system detected discrepancies in the traveler's OEC, and the matter was referred to the DMW official on duty. As in the previously mentioned incident, the BI primary inspector referred the matter to the TCEU. DMW records subsequently confirmed that the OEC presented by the victim was counterfeit. The victim eventually admitted that he was able to secure his fake OEC online. He, too, paid P7,000 for it. Earlier in May, the BI intercepted two female victims also bound for Poland from the NAIA Terminal 1 for possessing counterfeit OECs they had acquired through a social media site. The victims said that they each paid P500 to a fixer online for their fake documents. The victims were referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation and filing of appropriate charges against the scammers. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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