Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, May 28, took the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other government agencies to task for the alleged modus of some government officials facilitating the production of fake passports and aiding human trafficking syndicates to recruit Filipino minors to work in the Middle East.

Hontiveros said such is the case of three Filipino Muslim girls who were trafficked to Syria. All minors, the girls, whose recorded testimony were revealed at the Senate Committee on Women and Children’s continuation of the hearing on human trafficking, testified that their passports were fabricated to hide the fact that they were underaged, ensuring a seamless outbound transaction at the airport.

The girls, Omaima, Aleah, and Lenlen (not her real name) claim they were able to secure their passports through official channels when they were recruited, but these officials were able to forge their documents to make it appear they are adults.

“Our witness Lenlen went to the DFA in Cotabato to get her biometric passport in 2018. When then did the DFA give her a fake passport?” Hontiveros pointed out during the hearing.

“Si Omaima rin, pinatotohanan na yung passport niya ay ‘baklas,’ kaya na-diskartehan ang kanyang birthdate. Paano nakakalusot ang mga ganitong kalakaran (Omaima, too, attested that her passport was forged, that’s why they were able to alter her birthdate. How can such kind of scheme be carried out unnoticed)?” the senator lamented.

“Is there a government official colluding with human trafficking criminals? Huwag naman sana. Kung hindi man sila kasabwat, dapat malinawan ng DFA ang mga pag-aalala natin (I hope not. If they are not involved, I hope the DFA is enlightened about our concerns),” she stressed.

Lenlen, a native of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, said she was recruited when she was only 14 years old and trafficked to war-torn Syria. According to her, her passport was altered to change her name and age. The recruiters had promised her work in Dubai, but when she and other recruits reached Damascus, their phones were taken away from them before they underwent medical examination and brought to their employers.

In Syria, Lenlen said her employers would slap, pinch and beat her. She was able to escape in 2019 by jumping off the second floor. Though the police had helped her, she was eventually brought back to her employer.

When she was finally rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, she said a a staff, whom she identified as “Jun Carillo,” sexually harassed her verbally. Authorities said Carillo has already been recalled from his post.

On the other hand, Aleah, who is from Sultan sa Barongis in Maguindanao and Omaima, a native from Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato, were both 16 years old when they were trafficked to Syria in 2008. They too, said, they were maltreated by their employers.

According to Aleah, she spent 11 years with her employer whom she said were initially kind to her but eventually became abusive.

Omamia recounted how a man approached her for a possible work abroad when she was still in high school. She was unable to finish her studies because an agent then already recruited her.

“I call on the DFA to regularly check the welfare of our women and girls abroad. Kahit na-recall na daw itong si Jun Carillo, dapat masigurado natin na wala nang katulad niya sa hanay ng ahensya (Even though this Jun Carillo has been recalled, we need to make sure no other officials like him are working within the agency),” Hontiveros said.

“We would not have known of this case had Lenlen kept this story to herself. The DFA should be proactive in protecting our women,” she appealed.

Allison “Alex” Chiong, the former Bureau of Immigration (BI) officer who blew the whistle on the alleged “pastillas scam,” then confirmed to the Senate panel that corrupt immigration officials have a Viber group chat that displays the list of names of women to be trafficked out of the country. Chiong said the list may include underage girls with fraudulent passports.

In the case of Lenlen, Hontiveros said the BI disclosed that the immigration officer surnamed Jalijali who stamped her passport is already in the list of individuals being investigated by the agency for being involved in outbound human trafficking activities.

“If we find that this syndicated trafficking or trafficking committed by a group of three or more persons conspiring or confederating with each other, the prescription period is 20 years,” the lawmaker pointed out.

“So it’s not only the BI who must be held accountable here, but also those involved in making fake passports. So if there are still good government officials or if there are individuals who already know about this modus, please come forward before you face charges and sentenced to imprisonment,” she stressed.

“Let’s all help finally resolve this revolting issue. Let’s do all we can for our children,” Hontiveros said.