An Israeli national, who had overstayed his visa and attempted to exit the country by presenting a fake Philippine passport, was detained by a Bureau of Immigration (BI) officer at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday.
In a report given to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU) said that the 28-year-old Israeli national of Philippine descent was intercepted at NAIA Terminal 3, where he was supposed to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Denpasar, Indonesia.
The BI-BCIU added 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 on 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," BI-BCIU Overall Deputy Chief Joseph Cueto reported.
Upon verification with the BI's forensic document laboratory, it was confirmed that the entire document was indeed counterfeit.
Tansingco said that the use of these spurious passports will no longer work as immigration officers are trained and adept at detecting fraudulent travel documents.
The arrested Israeli is currently detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.