Public warned vs counterfeit CFOs

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday warned the public against the use of counterfeit Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) certificates.

The alert came after reports from the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) said that the female passenger was intercepted at NAIA Terminal 3 when she attempted to board a Jetstar Airlines flight bound for Nagoya, Japan.

Authorities said that the passenger carried with her a forged CFO certificate.

The passenger claimed she was visiting her husband in Japan and presented a marriage certificate and a CFO Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP) certificate.

The GCP Digital Certificate is a mandatory seminar to educate Filipinos involved in intermarriages and interracial relationships organized by the CFO. It definitely acts as a deterrent to trafficking under the pretense of marriage and mail-order spouse schemes.

However, the GCP certificate’s barcode could not be scanned and the document was sent to the passenger’s personal email, raising suspicion.

The woman eventually admitted the certificate was fake and obtained from a local fixer.

BI commissioner Norman Tansingco said the agency is working closely with the CFO to prevent the proliferation of fraudulent certificates.