INQUIRER.net file photo
DAVAO CITY – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) here is set to file charges against those involved in the issuance of spurious birth certificates by the Local Civil Registrar’s (LCR) office in Sta. Cruz town, Davao del Sur, as Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on the bureau to pursue its probe.
From just 200 discovered early last month, the fake birth records accounted for by the NBI have now reached 1,501, all issued by the Sta. Cruz LCR from 2016 to 2023.
The birth certificates were issued to Chinese nationals who have no trace of being residents of the town, said NBI Davao regional director Arcelito Albao.
READ: NBI findings prove Alice Guo ‘a fake Filipino’ – senators
“We are filing a case; it could be next week,” Albao told the Inquirer.
He reiterated an earlier observation that the scheme in Sta. Cruz was facilitated by a syndicate involving fixers, notaries, and contacts at the LCR.
In addition to filing charges against those involved in the scheme, Albao said they would also seek the cancellation of the issued birth certificates.
During Monday’s resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on fake documents, officials of Sta. Cruz town pointed out that 54 of the 1,501 certificates of live birth in question did not indicate any Filipino parents.
“I urge the NBI to determine and validate the existence of the 1,501 late registrants. My apprehension is that there are more cases similar to this and people might continue to abuse the system unless those guilty are penalized,” said Gatchalian in a statement.
Albao admitted that they had yet to locate each of those issued spurious birth documents.
“The birth certificate is the basis of one’s Filipino citizenship, and foreigners who are able to spuriously secure a birth certificate can obtain a Philippine passport, get their own national ID and buy real estate properties,” Gatchalian said.
The senator cited the case of Guo Hua Ping, also known as Alice Guo, who managed to get herself elected as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac based on what he described as a fake birth certificate.
Plugging holes
Guo has a standing arrest warrant for defying summonses issued by the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, which is investigating her alleged involvement in the illegal offshore gaming operations in the country.
According to Gatchalian, the government should plug holes in the civil registry system to prevent unscrupulous individuals or groups from taking advantage of the late registration process, which was established mainly for the benefit of indigenous peoples and those living in remote areas.
“Our solutions should not unduly burden our people but should be effective enough to prevent the likes of Alice Guo from taking advantage of the late registration process,” he said.
He said the NBI had already initially validated the existence of 102 of the 1,501 individuals who managed to get spurious birth certificates from Sta. Cruz.
“Per the NBI’s investigation, none of the 102 individuals actually reside in the town. An inquiry with the Department of Foreign Affairs also indicated that none of them had been issued a passport,” Gatchalian added.