INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ
MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco has expressed alarm over incidents involving overstaying foreigners who resort to using illegally acquired Philippine passports.
“The rise in the use of fraudulently acquired Philippine passports is alarming. These illegal aliens misrepresent themselves to be able to secure Philippine documents and evade immigration inspection,” Tansingco said in a statement.
He recounted that on Jan. 23, airport officers stopped the attempt of a male Chinese national, identified as Zhang Hailin, 36, who presented a Philippine passport under the name Alex Garcia Tiu.
Zhang attempted to fly out via a Thai Airways flight to Hanoi, Vietnam when he was stopped by immigration officers who doubted his identity.
Apart from his Philippine passport, Zhang was able to present a genuine birth certificate.
Upon further questioning, it was found that his fraudulently acquired Philippine passport contained counterfeit immigration stamps. He later admitted his true nationality and was found to be overstaying since 2020.
Also intercepted on Feb. 7 was a female Vietnamese national identified as Huynh Thanh Tuyen. Huynh, 24, also presented a fraudulently acquired Philippine passport under the name Maria Dantic Menor in her attempt to board a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Saigon, Vietnam.