MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros flagged on Tuesday an alleged “baklas passport” scheme wherein the passports of young Filipino women are altered to make them appear older than they actually are so that they can be trafficked to Syria.
“Baklas” is a Filipino word meaning “to remove by force.” In this case, it refers to the removal and replacement of certain details in passports.
During a Senate women committee hearing that she led, Hontiveros called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to investigate such tampering of passports.
She added that the DFA should also investigate its officials all over the country who might be facilitating the production of fake…
Keep on reading: Hontiveros flags ‘baklas passport‘ scheme used in trafficking minors to Syria