IMMIGRATION agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have “rescued” a Filipina from becoming the latest victim of a mail-order bride scheme.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the female passenger was intercepted by operatives of the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section before she could board a Xiamen Airlines flight bound for Xiamen, China, last July 15.
Viado said the 24-year-old victim, whose identity was withheld under anti-trafficking laws, initially claimed she was traveling with her brother to reunite with her husband, whom she had recently married, in China.
She presented a marriage certificate as proof of the civil wedding, a claim corroborated by her alleged brother.
However, Viado said the immigration officers noticed discrepancies in the documents that she presented.
“The marriage certificate showed a visibly altered date, and the marriage license was issued after the wedding, raising serious inconsistencies,” Viado said, adding she later admitted that both the marriage and the certificate were fake.
She recounted receiving P8,000 from the Chinese after the ceremony, which was meant to cover her expenses.
“She said a recruiter promised her a better life if she agreed to the arranged marriage with the Chinese man,” the BI chief said.
“The mail-order bride trap is rising again, tricking women into fake marriages and exploiting them as domestic workers with little or no pay,” he added.
Under the mail-order-bride scheme, women are promised a better life abroad but are made to work as domestic workers with little to no salary.
The victim and her traveling companion have been turned over by the BI to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and assistance.
Earlier, BI deputy spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said China is now becoming the main destination of Filipinas engaged in the mail-order bride scheme, a previous departure, he added, when South Korea was the favorite destination.
Last year, immigration agents intercepted several China-bound Filipina victims of the fake marriage scheme.
