The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested three individuals at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) for presenting falsified overseas employment contracts in an attempt to leave the country.
The suspects, identified as Rhea Borda, Nora Tafallo, and Baby Margarico, were stopped by immigration officers on August 20 while preparing to depart for Hong Kong as tourists. During inspection, authorities discovered that the documents they carried were fake.
According to the NBI, further investigation revealed that the three had been recruited online for supposed customer service jobs in Cambodia. Their testimonies also pointed to an immigration officer, Mohammad Rashid Alonto, who they claimed initially cleared them at the immigration counter.
“In their statements, the arrested passengers revealed that Immigration Officer Alonto was the one who initially cleared them during the immigration process,” the NBI confirmed.
Alonto is now facing charges under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, but remains at large.
The three arrested individuals, meanwhile, have undergone inquest proceedings for falsification of documents.
