by Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) – June 3, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently intercepted two Filipinas at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport who were using passports with falsified birthdates.
The two, believed to be victims of human trafficking syndicates, were about to board a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last May 29 to work as household service workers when they were flagged for secondary inspection by BI officers.
BI port operations chief Grifton Medina said the two female passengers presented valid passports, visas, employment contracts and overseas employment certificates, but the bureau’s frontline officers doubted the ages of the passengers due to inconsistencies in their answers and their demeanor.
“It later was later found that one of them is a minor, as she is only 15 years old while her companion is only 20 years old,” he said, stressing that only those who are 23 years old and above are qualified for deployment for domestic work in the Middle East.
Medina said the passengers’ passports and other documents, although valid, were fraudulently acquired as they contained falsified dates of birth.”
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