The National Bureau of Investigation – Human Trafficking Division (NBI-HTRAD), led by Director Jaime B. Santiago, conducted an entrapment operation at the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Main Office in Mandaluyong City on 10 October 2025, resulting in the arrest of a suspect for estafa.

Santiago identified the arrested suspect as Mary Jocelyn Vergara Balubayan, who will face charges for violating Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, or “Estafa.”

Records show that the case stemmed from information received by the DMW Operations and Surveillance Division (DMW-OSD) alleging that Balubayan and her cohort, Nialmo A. Lovina, had been victimizing distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were eligible to claim assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the DMW.

The two suspects reportedly engaged in ambulant soliciting at the DMW office, approaching beneficiaries and offering to secure Certificates of Indigency purportedly issued by Barangay Commonwealth in Quezon City.

According to complainants, the suspects demanded P1,000 from the P5,000 DSWD cash assistance and 15 percent of the P50,000 DMW assistance in exchange for the fake certificates.

An initial investigation revealed that all the alleged Barangay Certificates of Indigency were falsified, showing identical addresses for four different claimants. Verification with Barangay Commonwealth confirmed that the documents were spurious, prompting DMW officials to suspend the complainants’ claims for the Action Fund pending investigation.

Following the report, NBI-HTRAD agents coordinated with the DMW-OSD and the complainants to set up an entrapment operation. During the operation, a woman matching the suspect’s description approached the victims at a coffee shop inside the DMW lobby.

Upon receiving the pre-arranged signal indicating that the marked money had been handed over, NBI agents moved in and arrested Balubayan on the spot. She was later subjected to inquest proceedings on 11 October 2025, while her cohort Lovina remains at large.

The NBI urged the public to remain cautious and report any suspicious individuals offering unauthorized services or soliciting money in exchange for government assistance.