US woman caught hiding week-old baby in flight bag in Philippines

A 43-year-old US woman was arrested in the boardingarea of an airport in the Philippines on Wednesday after hiding ababy boy inside her carry-on bag, immigration officials said.The suspect was to board her flight to the United States when shefailed to present the infant's travel documents, said Melvin Mabulac,a spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration.The airline turned her over to airport authorities, who discoveredthat she had put the baby inside a bag strapped to her waist and onlybrought him out after passing through immigration."The infant was hidden in the oversized belt bag, and she did notdeclare nor present him to the immigration inspector," Mabulac said.The baby is believed to be Filipino and about one week old, he added.The suspect was turned over to the National Bureau of Investigationfor questioning - they will now determine if it is a case of humantrafficking. The baby was brought to the Department of Social Welfareand Development.Grifton Medina, head of the Bureau of Immigration's Port OperationsDivision, said the suspect said she was the baby's aunt."She said she was bringing the baby to the US to get vaccinations andparticipate in some religious rites," he told Manila radio stationDZBB.Under Philippine laws, travel clearance from the social welfaredepartment is required for children below 18 years old to travelalone or with companions other than their parents.