The Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned the public against the “mail-order bride” schemes following the interception of a Filipina at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) who attempted to leave the country for an arranged marriage in China.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said such schemes are resurfacing where suspects often deceive women with promises of a better life abroad.
“The mail-order bride trap is rising again—all promise[s] upfront, tricking women into fake marriages and exploiting them as domestic workers with little or no pay,” he added.
A 24-year-old woman was stopped on July 15 by officers from the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) as she attempted to board a Xiamen Airlines flight to Xiamen, China. She claimed she was traveling with her brother to meet her Chinese husband, whom she had recently married.
However, her marriage certificate had a visibly altered date, and her marriage license was issued after the reported wedding, raising suspicions.
The woman later admitted that both the marriage and the documents were fake. She told authorities that a recruiter had offered her ₱8,000 and promised her a better life if she agreed to an arranged marriage with a Chinese national.
The BI said the woman and her companion were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) under the Department of Justice for further investigation and assistance.
Earlier this year, BI intercepted two other Filipinas at NAIA who claimed they were going to China to meet their Chinese spouses. Upon investigation, officers discovered that both were married on the same date and time as two other victims. They later admitted their marriages were also fake and arranged by a third party.
