MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina was prevented from boarding her flight for Singapore on Thursday by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 for presenting a fake travel authority, according to a Bureau of Immigration (BI) report.
Upon primary inspection, immigration officers doubted the authenticity of the travel authority presented by the woman and referred her for secondary inspection, the BI said.
A travel authority is a document required of all government employees stating that their agency has approved their travel abroad.
According to the report by the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit, “the victim was not sure which municipality she worked in.”
The woman paid P15,000 to her recruiter and received her travel documents just before her departure at the airport, investigators said.
The woman said her true destination was Dubai, where she intended to either look for a job or await her visa for Lebanon.
She was referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and filing of appropriate charges against her recruiter.
“This incident shows that these traffickers will go to great lengths to elude strict immigration inspection,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.