Despite intensified efforts by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to combat online illegal recruitment, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) continues to intercept passengers attempting to depart the country with fraudulent documents for jobs sourced online.

On Tuesday, the BI reported stopping a 47-year-old woman last 19 July at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as she attempted to depart for Kuwait using an illegitimate Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).

The woman was about to board a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Riyadh when immigration officers noticed suspicious behavior.

Initial investigation revealed the woman’s name was not in the joint BI and DMW system. She later admitted paying a “fixer” P2,010 to obtain the fake OEC. The OEC is a mandatory document for overseas Filipino workers departing the Philippines and has been issued free of charge since 2023.

The BI said that it continuously intercepts Filipinos with fraudulent OECs, most of which are obtained online, particularly through Facebook groups. So far this year, the agency has apprehended 17 individuals with fake OECs.

Earlier this year, the DMW announced it had taken down approximately 71,653 fraudulent job postings dating back to 2024, in coordination with Meta and TikTok Philippines. The BI urged aspiring overseas workers to process their documents directly through the DMW.

In related developments, the BI also intercepted three passengers — one woman and two men — on 20 July as they attempted to depart for Da Nang, Vietnam, via Kuala Lumpur, posing as tourists.

One of the male passengers, 24, told authorities he had been recruited by a former business process outsourcing colleague to work for an airline in Cambodia handling refunds, with a promised salary of $1,200 or around P60,000 per month. He reportedly pawned his house to cover his expenses for the trip.

The second male passenger, 29, claimed he was offered a job via Telegram with a monthly salary of $1,500, a three percent sales commission, and P25,000 joining bonus.