Birth records of 1,733 foreigners faked, says PSA

Birth records or birth certificates of 1,733 foreigners have been detected to be falsified, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) admits during the House quad-committee hearing on Friday, August 16, 2024. INQUIRER.net stock images

BACOLOR, Pampanga — Birth records of 1,733 foreigners have been detected to be falsified, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) admitted during the House quad-committee hearing on Friday.

1-Rider party-list Rep. Bonifacio Bosita asked PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande regarding the update on the number of Chinese nationals who were found to have forged or counterfeited their Philippine birth certificates. In the past hearings, the number was initially pegged at around 1,000.

In response, Grande said there are now 1,733 birth records that are believed to have been faked – an increase of 69 from the reported figure during the previous hearing of the House committee on dangerous drugs.

“Mr. Chair, based on the data referred to us by the agencies, DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), at the Senate and Congress, we have more than 1,700 birth records that are related to registration of foreign nationals,” the PSA official said.

“We were able to investigate around 15 concerned civil registry offices, so on the part of the PSA these are our findings on the fraudulent registrations and we blocked these offices already, and this is an ongoing effort,” she added.

READ: Tip of the iceberg? Senators want crackdown on fake birth certificates

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) told Bosita that they have deported 2,379 Chinese nationals due to the Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) controversy.

Of this number, BI Prosecution and Legal Assistance Section head Homer Arellano said 1,207 individuals were involved in running illegal activities within Pogos while the remainder were workers who were rescued from Pogo hubs.

“Based on our data, we have removed – which means we have deported or repatriated – from the Philippines around 2,379 Chinese nationals from 2022 to 2024,” Arellano said.

“If we’re referring to those involved in illegal Pogos, that’s 1,207. But we also sent some Chinese nationals home because they were categorized as victims, we sent them home too. So if we total that, it’s around 2,379, Mr. Chair,” he added.

A scheme where Chinese nationals entering the country through special visas eventually register their children as Filipinos have been uncovered during the Senate and House hearings related to Pogos and illegal drugs.

The Senate’s inquiry into the raided Pogo hub in Bamban, Pampanga, led to the belief that dismissed mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese national whose birth was registered late by her Chinese father. However, Senator Risa Hontiveros said last June 27 that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already confirmed that Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping’s fingerprints matched.

At the House, lawmakers saw similarities between the case of Guo and electrical and light company Omni Philippines president Henry Bigay, as he was also raised by a Chinese father, availed of a late birth certificate registration, and held a Filipino and a Chinese passport at the same time.

At the hearing of the House committee on dangerous drugs last June 20, it was revealed that Bigay’s father, Yatai International Corporation founder Yang Hua Hong, was not listed as his father in his Philippine birth certificate.

Only Bigay’s mother, a certain Maria Luisa Bigay, was listed as his parent – but Bigay admitted to having been raised by his father.

READ: Sounds familiar? Chinoy businessman’s story draws comparisons to Alice Guo

Then last July 23, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission revealed that Whirlwind Corp. incorporator Cassandra Li Ong’s parents also availed of the late registration scheme.

Whirlwind Corp. leased a 10-hectare land inside the Grand Palazzo Royale in Porac, Pampanga to Lucky South, a Pogo that established business in the area. Guo, meanwhile, was tied to the Bamban Pogo as her former company, Baofu Land Development Inc., also leased land to Zun Yuan – the company operating the Pogo hub in the Tarlac town.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Baofu, as represented by Guo, who was president of the company, purchased eight parcels of land in Bamban last February 2019.  Guo claimed to have divested ownership of Baofu, but the DILG believes the amount she divested it for – P2.5 million – was “grossly incongruent to her investment on Baufo which is approximately eight hectares of land”.

The quad-committee has launched a hearing on the possible correlation between the illegal activities inside Pogo) hubs, foreigners owning land, proliferation of illegal drugs, public officials being bribed, and rights violations.

Earlier, House committee on public order and safety chairperson and Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez said the quad-committee needs to tackle these issues that started under the term of  former president Rodrigo Duterte, as it still affects the country as of now.

Aside from Fernandez’ panel and the committee on dangerous drugs, the two other panels that form the quad-committee are the House committee on public accounts and the committee on human rights.