A woman was arrested by the authorities of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for attempting to leave the country with counterfeit border stamp impressions on her passport and airline boarding pass at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, Pasay City on May 29.
The arrest occurred after the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking (NAIA-TFAT) endorsed the case, following the discovery by an Immigration Officer that a suspect, identified as Melissa Dy Bernados, was attempting to depart for Thailand on a Cebu Pacific flight from NAIA Terminal 3 on May 28, using a passport bearing a suspicious exit stamp.
Investigation disclosed that Dy was bound for Thailand via a Cebu Pacific flight departing at NAIA Terminal 3, Pasay City on 28 May 2025.
She admitted being recruited for employment to an offshore gaming company in Thailand as a Customer Service Representative with a promised salary of P52,000.00.
“On the day of her flight, Subject received instructions from a certain @Ahao through Telegram to proceed in front of the OFW lounge located on the 3rd floor of the terminal and to wait for their contact by the name of @Richard. When @Richard came, he took her passport and boarding pass and returned the same several hours later with impressions of BIBS No. 1198 on both documents,” NBI wrote in a statement.
As Dy was lining up at the Immigration counters, an alert Immigration Officer from the I-PROBES unit observed that her passport and boarding pass already bore departure stamps—an anomaly that led to her referral for primary inspection.
The officer questioned the authenticity of the stamps, prompting a secondary inspection and examination by Immigration Document Examiners, which later on confirmed that the stamps were fake.
Dy was taken into custody by the NBI-IAID and was subjected to inquest proceedings held virtually before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasay City on 30 May 2025.
According to the authorities, the suspect was reportedly facing charges for violation of Article 172, or falsification by private individuals and use of falsified documents.
