Pasay Court Sentences Woman to Over Three Years for Using Fake Immigration Stamp

A Pasay City court has handed down a prison sentence of up to three years, six months, and 20 days to a Filipino woman convicted of using falsified documents in an attempt to exit the Philippines illegally.

Melisa Dy was found guilty by the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 165 for employing a counterfeit immigration departure stamp on her passport, a violation punishable under the Revised Penal Code. Dy, who admitted guilt, was also fined P1,000.

The Bureau of Immigration stopped Dy at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on May 28 as she was trying to fly to Thailand using fraudulent means. The investigation revealed that Dy had been recruited to work for an offshore gaming company in Mae Sot, Thailand. Instead of going through the proper legal process for overseas Filipino workers, she sought assistance from a male fixer.

The fixer provided a fake immigration departure stamp on her passport to facilitate her travel without proper clearance. Upon interception, the Bureau of Immigration’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section referred Dy to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.

The National Bureau of Investigation’s International Airport Intelligence Division found sufficient evidence to charge Dy with document falsification. In response to the ruling, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado urged prospective overseas Filipino workers to refrain from using counterfeit documents to bypass immigration controls.

"Our immigration officers are trained to identify fraudulent documents, supported by our forensic documents laboratory capable of confirming forgery," Viado stated. "This serves as a clear warning to those considering such illegal methods. Anyone caught using fake documents risks imprisonment."