The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has stopped a female passenger bound for Guangzhou, China, for being a suspected victim of a mail-order bride syndicate at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
The victim claimed she was heading to China to join her supposed husband, whom she said she married in a civil wedding at Pasig City Hall in January.
However, inconsistencies emerged when a wedding photo showed a male solemnizing officer, contradicting the female preacher listed on the marriage certificate.
Upon questioning, the victim admitted the marriage was a sham, arranged by a fixer recruiting Filipinas to marry Chinese nationals.
She confessed to never meeting her “husband” before he visited the Philippines and revealed she was promised half a million pesos upon arrival in China by her recruiter.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco warned against falling for such schemes, stating that victims often end up as domestic workers facing exploitation.
BI has now ramped up its campaign against mail-order brides after noticing an increased number of victims.
According to the Bureau’s records, there have been four interceptions: one in January and three in February. While most interceptions occurred in Cebu, it is noteworthy that all victims hail from Luzon and are aged between 20 and 25.
The victim intercepted in March marks the first reported case this month, bringing the total to five for the year. Most of them reported paying an average of P40,000 to P45,000 to the recruiters who deceive them into becoming mail-order brides.
