An apparent trafficking victim was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after she presented a document with a fake signature of a Department of Justice (DOJ) executive.
The woman, a 30-year old prospective worker abroad, presented herself for primary inspection at the NAIA Terminal 1 in an attempt to depart via a Philippine Airlines flight to Singapore.
She initially claimed to be a DOJ employee working as an administrative and set to travel to Singapore as a delegate for an official travel, together with Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty.
Ty serves as the undersecretary-in-charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). He is currently in Thailand attending a forum on people smuggling, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crime.
The passenger presented a travel authority purportedly signed by Ty. However, officers noted inconsistencies in the signature which prompted them to verify with the DOJ.
It was later confirmed that the travel authority presented was fake, and that the passenger was actually recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as an entertainer.
She was allegedly charged 38,000 AED for her fake documents, which she will pay through salary deduction for two years. She admitted that her documents were just given to her in a fast food chain near the airport. Vito Barcelo
“The fake documents presented in this case is ridiculous. Faking the signature of the DOJ executive in Charge of IACAT to avoid scrutiny is the idea of these illegal recruiters and human traffickers who will not stop finding ways to evade inspection,” he added.
The victim was turned over to the DOJ-IACAT, who vowed to pursue charges against the recruiters.