PSA probe finds foreigners use fake birth certificate to get PH passport
Philippine passports (INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) official disclosed Monday that some foreigners used fake birth certificates to obtain Philippine passports.
PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande said that in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), they have validated that six foreigners with Philippine passports submitted birth certificates indicating that they are Filipinos – but the documents were found to be altered.
“Sa ngayon kasi ‘yung seven na alleged foreigners palang ‘yung impormasyon na mayroon sa PSA, so out doon sa mga birth certificates na ni-submit nila for passport, na-validate ng PSA anim dito ay fake o tampered na documents at isa dito ay authentic,” Grande said in an interview with Radyo 360.
(Right now, the seven alleged foreigners are the only information the PSA has, so out of the birth certificates they submitted for passports, the PSA has validated six of them as fake or tampered documents, and one is authentic.)
READ: Alarm sounded on issuance of PH passport to Chinese nationals
She noted that some of the six fake birth certificates were registered in the civil registry office. PSA is coordinating with the DFA to determine where the six foreigners obtained their documents.
She added that the PSA likewise seeks additional information on other foreigners suspected of presenting fake birth certificates to the DFA.
In a plenary debate on Friday, senators raised the alarm over an alleged scheme involving the issuance of Philippine passports to foreigners.
READ: Senators seek probe of ‘fake’ Filipinos entering country
Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda said the DFA is “actively engaging [with] law enforcement agencies pursuing the proper criminal charges against foreign nationals who were able to obtain Philippine passports.”
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, disclosed an ongoing investigation in a town in the Caraga region where Chinese nationals are allegedly issuing Philippine birth certificates.
