2 Chinese with fake passports held

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo ordered Monday the investigation of two Chinese women to determine the source of their fake Korean passports.

Domingo said that the two who introduced themselves as Kweon Hee and Lee Joong Hwa were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before they could board a Philippine Airlines flight to Sydney.

The two women, according to Domingo, were apprehended on the spot when they presented fake Korean passports to immigration officers.

Domingo said that she ordered the women arrested so they could be investigated to find the source of the fake Korean passport.

She suspected that the fake passports were the handiwork of a human smuggling syndicate that smuggles illegal aliens to other countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia.

Domingo also said that the two Chinese nationals, who are now detained at the immigration detention center in Bicutan will be deported and banned from reentering the Philippines.

In his report to Domingo, head immigration supervisor Danila Almeda said that the two Chinese women tried to pass themselves off as Koreans to gain entry to Australia.

Domingo ordered immigration personnel to be extra vigilant in clearing foreigners bound for countries other than their country of origin.

The immigration chief also expressed alarm over reports that the Philippines is now being used by human smuggling syndicates as a transit point in transporting illegal aliens to other countries.

Meanwhile, the BOI referred to the Pasay City prosecutor’s office for prosecution, a certain Danilo Dadis, who had tried to leave for Spain via Paris with a tampered Philippine passport and a fake Barcelona residence certificate.

Domingo also called for the investigation of a staffer of a foreign airline for allegedly booking Dadis despite prior knowledge that his travel documents were tampered and fake. – Rey Arquiza