THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has received information that 1,200 allegedly questionable birth certificates were issued to foreigners by the local Civil Registry Office in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
Senator Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Committee, raises alarm over the unauthorized proliferation and use of government documents such as live birth certificates, passports and tax identification numbers (TIN) by foreign nationals.
Cayetano said, during a Senate investigation Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, that thousands of security papers provided to some local offices of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) were lost or stolen.
As of March 21, 2024, she said the top local civil registers with the most number of spurious birth certificates are Manila, Caloocan, Quezon City, Pasay City and Pasig City as submitted by the PSA. “This is very concerning as it highlights the vulnerability of our Civil Registration System. A birth certificate is not just a document.
This serves as a proof of our identity as a Filipino and the source of our rights. The birth certificate is really one of the main proofs of identification when applying for other government identifications for school, for employment, marriage license, voter’s registration and even certificates of candidacy,” Cayetano said.
She said the proliferation of fraudulent birth certificates compromises the credibility of many government-issued documents and the application processes in the country.
Cayetano said foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, who fraudulently acquired their Filipino citizenship could pose a threat to national security.
She said the falsified records have allowed foreigners to purchase real estate, operate businesses and open bank accounts in the Philippines. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
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