IMMIGRATION Commissioner Norman Tansingco warned overseas job seekers of fake working documents being sold online.
This, following a 49-year-old Filipino woman was prevented from flying to the United Arab Emirates after immigration officers discovered that her overseas employment certificate (OEC), which she admitted was bought from a WhatsApp peddler for P7,200, was fake.
In a separate incident, a 25-year-old woman bound for Kuwait was also prevented from leaving for the same reason. She admitted to buying her OEC for P500 from a Facebook account named “OEC Appointment.”
“Our system is integrated with the DMW (Department of Migrant Workers), making it easier for us to detect fake certificates,” said Tansingco.
The OEC is a basic requirement for departing overseas Filipino workers issued solely by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, an adjunct agency of the DMW.
Tansingco said any attempt to circumvent OEC, visa and other immigration documents would fail because of the agency’s fool-proof system.
“Our officers were able to access a system that allows us to verify certain concealed visas,” he said.
Tansingco said selling fake documents to aid illegal departure of workers is a serious crime that falls under human trafficking.
