Senator Risa Hontiveros voiced concern on Tuesday following the National Bureau of Investigation’s recent discovery of thousands of falsified birth certificates in Davao del Sur.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women that is investigating the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and their alleged connection with Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is believed to be Chinese, described the discovery as a “serious security threat” to the country.
“Uncovering thousands of fake identities is a clear threat to the public order and national security. Our recent legislative inquiries into POGOs have revealed that criminal groups use fake Filipino citizenship papers to carry out their illicit activities. We in the Senate will continue to look into this alarming trend,” she said in a statement.
“Somewhere out there, someone with a fake identity is trying to buy land, use a Philippine passport to give himself or herself a brand new identity, form corporations, and perhaps even have the audacity to run for public office. This has been done before,” she noted.
Hontiveros said those who conspired to promote this scheme should be held accountable for endangering people’s lives.
“Who is enabling this? Who are the accomplices or protectors? Is this happening only in Davao del Sur or throughout the entire Philippines? We must crack down on Filipinos who have made this possible,” she said.
“There is no good outcome from pretending (to be Filipino),” she added.
Last week, the NBI disclosed that it had found 1,200 birth certificates issued to mostly Chinese nationals in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The spurious documents were issued from 2018 to 2019.
Over the past months, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission has conducted raids on POGO companies where they retrieved Philippine passports from foreign nationals, particularly Chinese.