The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has cautioned the public against scammers selling fake Guidance Counseling Program (GCP) certificates.
The GCP certificate is issued by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) for outbound passengers once they completed the pre-departure seminar about the realities of cultural and social realities abroad.
In a press statement on Monday, BI said the warning was issued after its primary inspectors at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted two departing Filipinas who were carrying GCP certificates, that were later found fraudulent, on two separate occasions.
"They were also unable to present the official digital copy of the certificate supposedly issued by the CFO," the agency said.
According to BI, one victim had disclosed that she got the fake certificate from a stranger who charged her ₱2,000 for it.
The second victim, on the other hand, said she acquired the certificate for ₱5,000 from a certain Ana she met online.
The agency said its Commissioner Norman Tansingco has reminded that the GCP certificates are important for combating human 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. Always verify the legitimacy of your transactions with authorized CFO agents only," Tansingco said as quoted by BI.
