Two incidents of mail-order brides attempted to pass through the Mactan Cebu International Airport by end of June 2024, and were intercepted by personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The first incident was reported on June 28, 2024, that involved a 29-year-old Filipina who was with a Chinese national who posed as her husband.

The two were reported to have presented a marriage certificate issued reportedly by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as well as photographs of their alleged wedding.

However, when the two were interviewed by BI personnel, their answers did not reconcile with the documents they had presented. Later in the interrogation, the woman admitted that they sought the help of a fixer to have their documents processed for a service fee that amounted to P17,500.

The next day, June 29, BI again intercepted two Filipinas who were with Chinese nationals that were also introduced as their respective husband.

Again, they were able to present their respective PSA-issued marriage certificate, but during the interview, their replies did not match the expected answers.

According to Dana Sandoval, spokesperson of the bureau, around 20 incidents of mail-order brides were intercepted by BI personnel, for the first half of 2024 alone, that attempted to go through various airports in the country.

Custody of the intercepted individuals was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.