The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) International Airport Investigation Division arrested a female passenger at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Manila, who attempted to forge an exit stamp. The woman, named Melissa Dy Y Bernados, was originally scheduled to fly to Thailand on a Cebu Pacific flight to work as a customer service representative for an offshore gaming company, with a monthly salary of about 52,000 pesos.
According to the investigation, Bernados contacted a person with the handle "@Ahao" via Telegram the day before departure and followed instructions to go to the airport's overseas labor rest area. Later, a man using the alias "@Richard" took her passport and boarding pass, and several hours later returned them with an exit stamp on the documents.
However, when she was preparing to go through customs, an immigration officer noticed something unusual and handed it over to an immigration document expert for review, who ultimately confirmed that the stamp was forged.
Bernados admitted that she knew the stamp was fake but still tried to bypass the regular inspection process, and is now suspected of violating Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code, constituting the crime of forging private documents. She has been formally transferred to the Pasay City Prosecutor's Office for further investigation.
This case reveals an active illegal cross-border recruitment and gaming manpower brokerage network. Philippine law enforcement agencies remind the public that forging official documents to evade border checks is a serious crime, and they will continue to combat human trafficking and the underground gaming industry to maintain border security and legal order.
