Officers from the Bureau of Immigration at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport reported on Friday that they had intercepted a female overseas Filipino worker who was traveling with a passport that had been obtained fraudulently.

According to the BI-NAIA, the female OFW, whose name was withheld in compliance with local trafficking laws, was intercepted on 17 September at NAIA Terminal 1 after attempting to depart on board a Philippine Airlines flight bound for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The said woman presented a passport showing that she is 30 years old and is bound for the Middle Eastern country to work as a housemaid. However, the immigration officers noted numerous inconsistencies, and she was referred for further inspection.

She eventually acknowledged during the secondary examination that she had taken on the persona of her cousin and disclosed her true name and age. She mentioned that she was only 20 years old and had been born in 2003.

After determining that she had presented a fraudulently acquired passport, she was immediately referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and her passport was likewise forwarded to the Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action and cancellation.