BI rescues victim in mail-order bride scheme --- By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO, GMA Integrated News

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers have rescued a victim of a supposed mail-order bride syndicate that sends Filipino women to China disguised as spouses of Chinese nationals, the agency announced Friday. According to the BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), the passenger was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on March 15 before she could board her flight to Guangzhou, China. I-PROBES said the victim claimed she was going to join her supposed spouse. She presented a marriage certificate as proof of their civil wedding, which supposedly took place in Pasig in January 2023. “As per marriage certificate, the wedding was solemnized by a female preacher but in a wedding picture she presented that solemnizing officer appears to be a man,” the I-PROBES said in its report to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco. The victim later confessed that the marriage was fake and her certificate was made by a fixer who recruits Filipinos who are willing to become brides of Chinese nationals. She also said that she has never met her supposed husband. The victim said her recruiter promised to pay her P500,000 upon her arrival in China for marrying the Chinese. For the BI’s part, Tansingco warned that Filipinas who become involved in the mail-order bride scheme often end up working as domestic helpers and are subjected to unfair labor practices. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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