A Filipina who had allegedly fallen victim to a mail-order bride scheme was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) before she could board a flight headed for Xiamen, China.
According to Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) officers blocked the 24-year-old victim and her companion, purportedly her brother, at NAIA Terminal 1. She claimed she was set to reunite with her new husband in China.
Although her alleged brother affirmed the claim, the marriage certificate the victim presented to authorities as proof of the civil wedding contained discrepancies.
“The marriage certificate showed a visibly altered date, and the marriage license was issued after the wedding — raising serious inconsistencies,” I-PROBES noted in its report.
It was reported that the victim confessed the marriage and certificate were fake. She recounted that a recruiter promised her a better life if she were to marry the Chinese national. He had paid her ₱8,000 after the ceremony, which was meant to cover her expenses.
“The mail-order bride trap is rising again — all promise upfront, tricking women into fake marriages and exploiting them as domestic workers with little or no pay,” said Viado.
The victim and her companion have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and assistance.
