2 charged for submitting fake passports

Two people were charged recently by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for presenting a fake passport and spurious supporting documents to the British Embassy.

 Charged before the Department of Justice (DOJ) were Jerome Mari Mesina, and his alleged wife, Janette Suniga Mesina.

The two were charged for violation of Article 172, or Falsification of Public Documents in relation to Art. 171, par. 7 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) as amended, and violation of Sec. 19, Par. d (3) of Republic Act 8239 or otherwise known as “The Philippine Passport Act of 1996.”

On June 25, 2007, the British Embassy referred to the NBI-Interpol Division for investigation and appropriate action on the case against the two respondents who allegedly submitted falsified documents.

In support of their application for tourist visas, they presented a certificate of marriage, showing they were husband and wife.

However, the NBI discovered that there is no record at the National Statistics Office of a marriage between Mesina and Suniga, solemnized on June 18, 2002.

Janette’s passport was also discovered to be spurious, according to the NBI.

Lab examination conducted by the Banknotes and Securities Printing Department of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Janette’s passport, bearing Passport No. UU0416139 revealed that the first page was spliced, cut and replaced with paper and print not conforming to BSP standards.    – Sandy Araneta