Authorities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were performing routine security checks on passengers when they came across the surprising stowaway on Monday evening.
The two-month-old baby was fast asleep in the bottom of a backpack and was only discovered after the bag was run through the airport’s x-ray scanner.
Jennifer Pavolaurea, a 25-year-old nursing graduate, was quickly identified as the owner of the backpack… and as the baby’s mother.
She admitted she had been trying to smuggle her son out of the country because she did not have the necessary immigration clearance for him.
It has been reported that Jennifer had arrived in the Philippines in May 2014, with a visa that allowed her to stay in the country for just 59 days.
Several months into her stay in the country, the single mother gave birth to her child.
Vicente L Guerzon Jr, assistant general manager for security and emergency services of the Manila International Airport Authority, told ABS-CBN that the young mother had - prior to the smuggling incident - been questioned over her visa’s expiration.
However she was, thankfully, allowed to continue her journey to her homeland of Papua New Guinea - with her baby.
No charges were brought against her.