BI: Some foreigners fake marriages to enter Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — To skirt travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic and enter the Philippines, some foreigners pretend to be married to Filipinas, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported yesterday.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said they have tightened the screening of arriving foreigners at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other ports after two Koreans allegedly attempted to illegally enter the country.

Morente said he received reports that some foreigners were able to sneak into the Philippines by presenting fraudulent marriage certificates to make it appear that they were eligible to enter the country.

He said they would run after foreigners who managed to enter the country through fraud and misrepresentation.

Morente urged the public to report to the BI foreigners believed to be involved in fake marriages so they could be arrested and deported.

Grifton Medina, BI port operations division acting chief, cited an instance on Aug. 17 when two South Koreans were denied entry at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport after they presented scanned copies of their marriage certificates that turned out fake.

Medina said the Koreans were excluded after BI officers found that one of them has not been to the Philippines. The other was actually out of the country on the date of his supposed marriage to a Filipina.

Immigration officers at the NAIA and other ports were ordered to be more vigilant in screening foreign spouses and parents of Filipinos.

“It is not enough that foreigners have entry visa, marriage and birth certificates. If they notice inconsistencies in a passenger’s answer to their questions, the latter should be referred for secondary inspection either to the immigration supervisor or personnel from the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit,” Medina said.

The government recently revised restrictions on the entry of foreign tourists into the country by exempting the spouses of Filipinos or have minor children or children with special needs, regardless of age. – Rudy Santos