Nearly 50,000 cases of late birth registrations from 2010 to 2023 were flagged as potentially fraudulent and are subject to field verification, the Philippine Statistics Authority confirmed to a Senate panel on Monday, sparking renewed concern among lawmakers about sleeper cells. 

PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa provided the estimate before the Senate committee on finance after Senator Ping Lacson questioned the agency about its handling of late birth registrations amid reports that foreign nationals are exploiting this loophole to unlawfully acquire Filipino citizenship. 

Citing intelligence information from the military, Lacson said cases of late birth registration have already reached tens of thousands. Most of them are allegedly identified as Chinese nationals, posing a dire threat to the Philippines’ national security.

“I am more particularly concerned about the national security issue. Because if there are indeed sleeper agents, cells operating here, we are in danger. And we’re talking of thousands, even tens of thousands of these people. Well, you can just imagine [the implications],” Lacson pointed out.

Mapa said that while he agreed with the senator’s observation, he contended that PSA cannot simply block registrants from belatedly applying for their birth certificates as he deemed it a “universal right” of Filipinos.

Senator Raffy Tulfo butted in, arguing that the PSA must enforce a one-year amnesty window for late registrants to prevent abuse of the system.

He attributed the need to strictly implement the reform to recurring reports that foreign nationals, including Chinese, are circumventing the rules and procedures to illegally obtain passports and other government-issued IDs, aside from birth certificates.

Tulfo cited a 2024 report by the National Bureau of Investigation which found that up to 1,200 foreigners—predominantly Chinese—obtained Philippine birth certificates through late birth registration in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur alone since 2016. 

Lacson stressed that this scheme continues to flourish because of the money involved. He alleged that foreign nationals are bribing local civil registry officials with P5,000 in exchange for processing their late birth application, calling it a “scam.”

Strict vetting

Mapa told senators, however, that the PSA has already tightened its vetting and verification protocols following past controversies involving foreign nationals manufacturing fake Filipino citizenship documents. One notable example of this was the case of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.

“We issued [a] memo that if you are a late registrant in the birth certificate, you first have to [personally] appear so that the National ID team can get your biometric and demographic data. But I agree with you, Senator Raffy, that there must be a time limit to cover the substantial percentage,” Mapa said.

To date, the PSA official said around 1,600 non-Filipinos have been blocked from the PSA system.

These cases, according to Mapa, have been referred to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for legal action as well as the Bureau of Immigration and other national security agencies.

 The OSG is empowered to cancel birth certificates, particularly those acquired fraudulently or through gross irregularities by foreign nationals.

Mapa said the PSA has also petitioned Congress to insert a provision into pending legislation that would allow the cancellation of fake birth certificates through an administrative process, bypassing lengthy court proceedings. 

The almost 50,000 registrants assessed as suspicious cover the years 2010 to 2023, and are still currently subject to PSA’s internal audit. Mapa said efforts to locate them in barangays where they are supposedly registered are still underway.

Some of the perpetrators have their birth certificates canceled, Mapa added.

Only 3 percent Pinoys unregistered

According to Mapa, the PSA has an existing program that helped reduce cases of late registration for birth certificates. In 2020, the number was close to 4 million, but due to the program, the PSA reportedly registered 600,000. 

As for the National ID, Mapa said at least 97 percent of the entire population is already registered. The country’s population is estimated at 114 million, leaving around 17 million Filipinos unregistered. 

Mapa attributed the big chunk of this to overseas Filipino workers, particularly those in the Middle East. The ongoing conflict in the Gulf has reportedly hampered the PSA's efforts to have them registered. 

Another notable factor contributing to the delay was the Covid-19 pandemic, Mapa added.

From 2018—when the law mandating the National ID was passed—to this year, the government has allocated a whopping P26.21 billion for its nationwide implementation. 

Despite the enormous budget, complaints continue to mount over its poor implementation, including delays in physical card delivery and non-acceptance by government or private establishments, even though refusal carries a fine of up to P500,000.