Matchmaker, 2 Pinays nabbed at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - A matchmaker and two Filipinas who allegedly attempted to illegally travel to China to find husbands were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

The matchmaker, a Chinese man, and the two women were intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 2 as they were about to board a flight to Beijing, said BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr.

In a statement, the BI said the women initially claimed they were tourists, but could not give an itinerary when immigration officers questioned them.

The women then gave another story – they were employed as supervisors and managers of a Filipino-Chinese mining firm – but the identification cards they presented turned out to be fake, the BI said.

The women admitted they were traveling with their Chinese companion to help them convince immigration officers at the Beijing airport that they are real tourists, the BI said.

Once they arrive in China, the matchmaker would have them meet Chinese men they could marry, the women told the BI.

David said that under the Persons in Trafficking Act of 2003 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, the act of matching Filipinas for marriage to foreign nationals is prohibited.

“These laws do not only prohibit sending women abroad for prostitution or forced labor. They also define as trafficking the act of introducing or matching for profit any Filipino woman to a foreigner for marriage,” he said.

He added that the law mandates the BI to adopt measures to apprehend suspected traffickers.

David said that under existing regulations, Filipino fiancées or spouses of foreigners must register with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas and attend the agency’s counseling sessions before going abroad.