Immigration bureau warns vs rising use of fake passports
THE BUREAU of Immigration on Thursday sounded the alarm about a rise in the use of fake foreign passports, citing threats from child trafficking.
The agency recently intercepted two Vietnamese girls at the Ninoy Aquino International (NAIA) Terminal 1 who presented illegally obtained German passports.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco said this might be a case of child trafficking.
The two girls, aged 15 and 17, arrived in the Philippines from Saigon. They presented stolen German passports, whose owners had similar facial features.
Mr. Tansingco said the photos of the two girls matched only 4% and 9% of the photos on the German passports.
The girls, who showed their Vietnamese passports, admitted that the German passports were stolen and were given to them by fixers.
The German passports were surrendered to the German Embassy.
“They were look-alikes, but were detected as both German passports, which prompted a hit in the Bureau of Immigration’s Interpol derogatory check system, indicating that their travel documents were reported as lost or stolen,” Mr. Tansingco said.
They were denied entry to the Philippines and blacklisted.
Another Vietnamese minor was intercepted at the same terminal on July 23 before boarding a Korean Airlines flight bound for Incheon, en route to Toronto for his final destination.
The 17-year-old boy also presented a fake German passport.
During the interview, he admitted his real identity and showed authorities his Vietnamese passport.
He also confessed that he used the German passport to illegally enter Canada.
“It was surprising to hear how easy it was for him to acquire the passport online,” Mr. Tansingco said. “This seems to be another scheme illegal migrants use to be able to secure work abroad.”
Meanwhile, the Immigration bureau said it needs about P1.3 billion next year to upgrade its outdated security systems at Philippine airports so it could block members of criminal syndicates and other fugitives from justice.
“We need an upgrade because our matching system has a limited capacity,” Immigration bureau Management Information Systems Division chief Jolly Bert G. Galeon told a Senate committee on public services hearing.
“If people change their names even by one letter, it has trouble matching (their identity) in our database,” he added.
He said only electronic gates at airports could crossmatch identities accurately, but Immigration booths still lack updated technologies.
In June, the bureau nabbed two Chinese fugitives wanted for extortion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
In January, the agency said 3,359 foreigners including wanted fugitives and sex offenders were barred from entering the country last year.
“If we need to upgrade or change the system, let’s do it even if it would cost billions to do so,” Senator Rafael “Raffy” T. Tulfo told the hearing in Filipino. “Because when it comes to national security, there should be no compromise.” — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and John Victor D. Ordoñez