Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents arrested an overstaying Israeli national for attempting to leave the country by presenting a fake Philippine passport.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the passenger, a 28-year-old Israeli national of Philippine descent, was intercepted at the NAIA terminal 3 where he was supposed to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Denpasar, Indonesia.
The BI chief said that after presenting himself to the immigration officer at the BI counter for departure formalities, the man handed over a Philippine passport which turned out to be fake as evidenced by the glaring irregularities immediately noticeable in the passport’s bio-page.
“When asked by the immigration officer how and where he obtained the said passport, the passenger readily admitted that he procured the same from a fixer for a fee of P10,000,” according to BI-border control and intelligence unit (BCIU deputy chief Joseph Cueto.
Upon verification with the BI’s forensic documents laboratory, it was confirmed that the entire document was counterfeit.
Reacting to the incident, Tansingco warned would-be travelers not to accept offers from fixers.
“The use of these spurious passports will no longer work as immigration officers are trained and adept in detecting fraudulent travel documents,” the BI chief said.
The man is currently detained at the BI’s facility in Bicutan, Taguig.
