THE Bureau of Immigration yesterday cautioned Filipinos traveling abroad to be with their foreign partners against the circulation of fake Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP) certificates sold by scammers.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco issued the warning after immigration officers recently intercepted two departing Filipino women carrying fake GCP certificates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The GCP is a required pre-departure seminar conducted by the CFO aiming to equip Filipinos in intermarriages and bi-national relationships with adequate information on the realities of cultural and social realities overseas.
Tansingco said the certificates presented by the two women purports to show that they have attended the GCP, and therefore can leave for abroad.
The two were intercepted by primary immigration inspectors after suspecting the authenticity of the documents they presented.
Tansingco said they were also unable to present the official digital copy of the certificate supposedly issued by the CFO.
“One victim, who was supposed to leave the country last April 30 with her Indian boyfriend, disclosed that she acquired the fake certificate from a stranger who approached her near the CFO office for a fee of P2,000,” Tansingco said.
“The other victim, a girlfriend of a Hong Kong national who attempted to depart last May 3, employed the help of a certain Ana she met online, to whom she paid P5,000 for the fake CFO certificate,” he added.
Tansingco explained the importance of the GCP in the government’s effort to counter human trafficking.
“The government imposed the pre-departure counseling services to deter trafficking in the guise of marriage and the mail-order bride scheme. This is also to ensure that migrating Filipinos know their available support network abroad in times of distress,” he said.
Tansingco said the women have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.
