Senate wants fraudulent PH passports probed

PASSPORTS FOR SALE Foreigners can now get Philippine passports if the price is right. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday sought the help of the government’s intelligence agencies in hunting down those behind the fraudulent issuance of Philippine passports and other government-issued documents to Chinese nationals and other foreigners.

At the resumption of the Senate plenary budget debates, Zubiri told officials of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) and the National Security Council (NSC) that the modus, which allegedly involved corrupt government officials, would compromise national security.

He said the National Bureau of Investigation was conducting its own investigation into the matter, which was first raised by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa during the deliberations on the budget request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last week.

According to the DFA, the foreigners had submitted genuine birth certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority in applying for Philippine passports.

“There are national security implications to this because we were shown how easy it is for foreigners to get [authentic] birth certificates,” Zubiri said.

‘It’s unheard of’

“We’ve seen kidnap-for-ransom, extortion and sex trafficking [activities] being done by foreigners using our legal documents. It’s unheard of in other countries,” he said.

The Senate president said a measure should be filed to impose stricter penalties against individuals providing foreigners with documents that should only be given to Filipino citizens.

“I hope that the investigation will be done very quickly after the budget hearings,” Zubiri said.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who sponsored the budget proposals of the NSC and Nica, said the officials of the two intelligence agencies had expressed their commitment to take part in the investigation.

‘Security implications’

Sen. Risa Hontiveros shared Zubiri’s concerns, adding that among those who had secured valid identification cards were Chinese citizens working in Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).

“This will have national security implications as there are reports that [China] has ‘sleeper cells’ in the country,” Hontiveros said.

“That’s why we are saying that operating Pogos is not the end game, [but a means] to infiltrate important government institutions and undermine our national security,” she added.

The opposition senator also warned that Pogos were already relocating to the provinces following the recent raids conducted by authorities in their hubs in Metro Manila.

“They have expansion plans in Cebu, Iloilo, and other parts of the country where they are allegedly buying properties,” she said.