Friday, July 25, 2008 Minors use fake docs to obtain passports: DFA
AN OFFICIAL of the regional office of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said most of those who attempted to obtain passports using fraudulent documents are minors from outside Davao Region.
"We get about 15 cases everyday. Sa interview ng aplikante, diha na namo mahibaw-an kay masipyat man. They do not know the info inside the passport they are using," DFA-Southern Mindanao director Daniel Te said in Thursday's I-Speak forum.
Replacing the picture in the old passport with their own for easy registration is how the applicants do it.
"Wala pa sa Davao ang origin ng mga ito. Marami din sila, puro minors. I think there is a syndicate operating banda sa Maguindanao. They make these minors believe na makakauha sila ng passport at hindi namin mahahalata," Te said.
Te added that in such cases, they confiscate the tampered passport and subject this to another verification. If proven guilty, the person would have to pay an estimate of P160,000 in fines and/or two years imprisonment.
"In this case na minors, mahirap talaga especially pag victims din sila. We have to get them a lawyer," Te said.
The issuance of passports is even made more secure now with the computer-generated procedure -- an operation known only to few.
"Hindi nila ito mata-tamper kasi hindi nila alam ang proseso. Tadtad ng security marks ito. Pwera nalang kung may inside job. Huwag kayong maniwala na kaya ng mga fixers na ayusin ito," Te said.
He said the computer-generated forms and passport is not only more secure but will also help lessen trafficking cases.
"Mas longer ang time to get these computer-generated passports dahil sa kokonti lang ang am,ing machines but you can be assured it is tamper-proof," Te said.
