Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has revealed the processing cost for fake birth certificates and other government IDs is around P300,000.
This comes after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) discovered around 200 falsified birth certificates issued to Chinese nationals in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, between 2018 and 2019.
Gatchalian inquired into the cost of obtaining a birth certificate, passport, and driver’s license from the Chinese community, who informed him on the matter.
He said the proliferation of fake birth certificates allow unscrupulous individuals including foreign nationals to secure government-issued identification, evade immigration laws, and perpetrate crimes.
“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.
Moreover, discrepancies were found in the birth certificate of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, particularly regarding the absence of government records proving the existence of one Amelia Leal, the named mother in Guo’s birth certificate.
Guo is being linked to the operations of a Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) hub in Bamban, which was recently raided for violation of human trafficking laws and serious illegal detention.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, emphasized that various investigations conducted by government agencies have highlighted the alarming proliferation of fake or spurious birth certificates, which some foreign nationals use to obtain government identification and evade immigration laws.
During the Senate deliberations on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2024 budget, it was disclosed that at least 308 fake birth certificates were used for Philippine passport applications from January to September of the previous year. Six of these birth certificates belonged to foreign nationals who were issued Philippine passports.
The PSA is currently investigating the ongoing proliferation of fake birth certificates, including around 300 incidents involving Filipinos and 65 cases involving foreigners.
Additionally, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has prevented over a hundred attempts by foreigners to apply for Philippine passports using spurious documents, with over 55 active cases referred to law enforcement agencies.
The DFA said that foreign nationals often pretend to be Filipinos by presenting authentic and genuine birth certificates and valid government-issued IDs.
Similarly, the Immigration Bureau has expressed concern over incidents involving overstaying foreigners who misrepresent themselves to obtain Philippine documents and evade immigration inspection.
