An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was intercepted last January 25 after records show that another person already traveled using her identity.
In a report to Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco, members of the immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-Probes) said that alias Olive, 33, attempted to depart for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as an OFW at the Ninoy Aquino International airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
Primary inspection officers saw that alias Olive have already a recorded departures as an OFW in 2015 and 2019, despite her being a first time traveler.
Careful scrutiny of her records reveal that another person, bearing the exact same identity details, have traveled before.
She shared that in 2014, she was recruited by an agent in Maguindanao, who changed her birth year to 1990 to comply with the then 23 year old age requirement for household service workers (HSWs).
She admitted to have paid P1,500 for her new birth certificate, but claimed that she was not able to push through with her application and has not heard from her recruiter since. She claimed to be the real owner of the name and details that were used before her.
The case was forwarded to the Inter-Agency Council Against trafficking who will initiate an investigation on the incident.
BI arrests 2 wanted alien fugitives at NAIA
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the arrest of two wanted foreign fugitives who recently attempted to leave the country via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the two passengers as Chinese national Zhao Yaxin, 33, and Moroccan national Badr Ettachi, 32, who were intercepted separately over the weekend by operatives of the BI’s border control and intelligence unit (BCIU) at the NAIA.
Zhao was arrested Jan. 27 at the NAIA terminal 3 before he could board his outbound flight to Guangzhou, China while Ettachi was apprehended the next day as he was about to leave for Singapore.
“They will undergo deportation proceedings as a consequence of their status as fugitives from justice and afterwards we will expel and ban them perpetually from re-entering the Philippines for being undesirable aliens,” Tansingco said.
He disclosed that Zhao is wanted by Chinese authorities for involvement in economic crimes while Ettachi is subject of an Interpol notice which stemmed from an embezzlement case that was filed against him in the UAE.
Both foreigners were committed to the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending deportation proceedings.
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