BI bares new mail-order bride scheme

MANILA, Philippines — There is a new mail-order bride scheme that involves Chinese men using genuine government documents, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported yesterday.

A Filipina tourist bound for Xiamen, China attempted to leave the country with a Chinese man who claimed to be her husband.

Agents from the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section had the two passengers undergo secondary inspection and questioning.

Immigration officers noted inconsistencies in the passengers’ statements, according to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

The Chinese, a worker in the Philippines, presented an apostilled original marriage certificate indicating he and the Filipina were married in Kamasi, Maguindanao in October 2022.

However, the man’s travel records showed he was not in the country during the supposed wedding, the BI said.

The Filipina later admitted she did not personally process her marriage certificate and had no idea how it was processed.

The man claimed they paid P40,000 for the marriage certificate, which was processed by an agency in China.

The BI’s forensic documents laboratory found that the documents he presented were genuine despite having fake details.

“In the scheme, women are made to travel with their pseudo-husbands to be trafficked abroad,” Tansingco said, citing two previous cases with similar patterns.

“This is very concerning, since they are able to present authentic documents despite their sham marriages,” he added.