Bill on seizure foreigner-acquired real estate filed

MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to authorize the government to seize real estate properties unlawfully acquired by foreigners, including those linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos), has been filed before the House of Representatives. 

House Bill (HB) No. 11043 or the proposed  “Civil Forfeiture Act” was filed on Thursday (November 7).

It was introduced by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, and quad committee chairpersons Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez, Bienvenido Abante Jr., and Joseph Stephen Paduano.

According to lawmakers, the measure targets “to reinforce the constitutional ban on foreign land ownership, established in the 1935 Constitution.” 

Previous House probes into Pogos also revealed that foreigners linked to these hubs “are effectively acquiring Filipino citizenship by securing falsified birth certificates, passports and driver’s licenses with the help of corrupt public officers in the local civil registrars, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Land Transportation Authority.”

“Using these falsified public documents, these unscrupulous aliens can skirt the constitutional prohibition on foreign land ownership,” the bill reads. 

The bill also seeks to nullify any land transferred or conveyed to an unqualified foreigner. 

Under the bill, the Office of the Solicitor General, along with the Department of Justice, would initiate civil forfeiture proceedings.