MANILA, Philippines — A suspected attempt to smuggle a passenger past immigration inspection using a fake passport stamp has triggered a probe to determine the existence of a human trafficking scheme targeting Filipinos searching for jobs abroad, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday.
BI officers intercepted a 28-year-old male passenger at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 before he could board his flight to Malaysia after an immigration inspector spotted a suspicious departure stamp in his passport.
The passenger, whose identity was withheld, claimed he already completed departure formalities and was traveling to Malaysia as a tourist.
But during questioning, he revealed that a supposed contact inside the airport took his passport and boarding pass before returning them with a counterfeit departure stamp.
The passenger said the arrangement had been facilitated through Telegram, where he was promised assistance with immigration procedures and travel documents. He claimed he did not know the stamp was fake.
Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section chief Leni Maminta said the passenger also disclosed that he had been recruited for a customer service representative position and interviewed by a foreigner before his departure.
The passenger said the individuals involved did not demand payment for returning his travel documents.
The BI Forensic Documents Laboratory confirmed that the departure stamp was counterfeit.
