BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – The first Philippine passport issued in 1946 is now in the possession of the provincial government of Iloilo.
The passport marked “No. 1” was issued to Maria Garcia Ford by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on July 8, 1946.
“This is the very first passport issued when the Philippines became a Republic,” Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said.
The passport had been turned over to him by Thomas Joseph Ford Jr. for safekeeping and display .
Ford Jr., owner of Central Asturias Sugar Central in Dumalag, Capiz.
Defensor said the passport will be displayed in the provincial museum which will rise on the property that used to be the old provincial jail./PN
