Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that the successful system integration between the agency with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) is a significant step in curbing proliferation of fake documents.
Viado shared that the joint system with said agencies was instrumental in flagging attempts to use fraudulent documents for travel. He stated that the system integration aligns with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive to streamline operations and enhance interagency connectivity.
In a report from BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES), the first victim, a 30-year-old female, was intercepted last February 4 before she could board a Cebu Pacific flight to Nagoya, Japan.
“She presented a CFO certificate, which was easily flagged as unregistered by the BI-CFO system,” said Viado.
The said certificate is a required document by the CFO for first time Filipino emigrants.
Last February 7, a 34-year-old female was intercepted before she could board an AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur.
“The victim’s OEC number, listed under a different name in the BI-DMW database, revealed tampering,” Viado added.
It’s worth recalling that BI and DMW integrated their databases to streamline services for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), while BI and CFO collaborate to verify Filipinos in intermarriages and bi-national relationships.
“This underscores the effectiveness of the interoperability, making it significantly harder for illegal workers and human trafficking victims to go undetected,” said Viado.
Through this seamless collaboration, BI reaffirms its commitment to optimizing immigration procedures, strengthening border security, and refining the governance of immigration policies. (BI)
