Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is seeking a probe on the proliferation of fake birth certificates and other government IDs being sold at P300,000 each.
He raised the alarm on the racket which he said has produced “200 Alice Guos” – a term he used to describe Chinese nationals who have obtained falsified birth certificates in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur between 2018 and 2019.
“Syndicates may be behind the proliferation of fake birth certificates as well as the apparent abuse of the late birth registration system,” said Gatchalian, who filed Senate Resolution 1053 seeking an investigation on the illegal practice.
“In effect, you have 200 Alice Guos,” he said, in reference to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo whose nationality is being questioned.
He said the racket was discovered after a Chinese national attempted to apply for a Philippine passport, but could not speak Tagalog when he was interviewed by Department of Foreign Affairs personnel.
On Tuesday, Hengson Lemosnero, originally identified by the National Bureau of Investigation as Hanlin Qiu, was apprehended at the DFA office in Davao City.
He is reportedly one of the 200 Chinese nationals who acquired falsified birth certificates from Davao del Sur.
During the Senate deliberations on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2024 budget, it was disclosed that at least 308 fake birth certificates were used for Philippine passport applications from January to September 2023. Six of these birth certificates belonged to foreign nationals who were issued Philippine passports.
The DFA also disclosed that foreign nationals often pretend to be Filipinos by presenting authentic birth certificates and valid government-issued IDs.
“We will call the PSA to attend the hearing. I hear the same modus also exists in Lanao,” Gatchalian said.
