BI intensifies fight vs fake foreign passports

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday disclosed that it is already on high alert amid reports that some foreigners are using fraudulent passports to enter the Philippines, particularly after a spate of incidents involving Vietnamese minors.

BI commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the directive comes after the agency has intercepted three Vietnamese children in recent weeks trying to use stolen German passports to gain entry into the country.

Reports said that two 15-year-old Vietnamese girls arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on 22 July aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Saigon and were denied entry after immigration officers flagged their German passports as stolen.

“They were look-alikes, but were detected as both German passports prompted a hit in the BI’s Interpol derogatory check system indicating that their travel documents were reported as lost or stolen,” Tansingco said.

The girls admitted to using fake passports and said they were given the documents by fixers who promised easy travel. They also presented their genuine Vietnamese passports.

Both were barred from entering the Philippines, sent back to Vietnam and blacklisted.

Another 17-year-old Vietnamese boy was stopped at the same airport terminal on 23 July as he was about to board a Korean Airlines flight to Incheon, South Korea, en route to Toronto, Canada. He was carrying a fraudulent German passport.

The foreigner confessed to using a fake passport to illegally enter Canada and presented his real Vietnamese passport, which was hidden in his bag. He was taken into custody and placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development while awaiting deportation.

Investigations revealed that the foreigner bought the fake passport from a website allegedly based in Europe.

“It was surprising to hear how easy it was for him to acquire the passport online. This seems to be another scheme illegal migrants use to be able to secure work abroad,” Tansingco said.  

The immigration chief expressed concern that the incidents could be linked to human trafficking, with minors being smuggled into other countries.