Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros called for accountability against the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) officers involved in issuing fraudulent civil registry documents.
During plenary debates on the 2025 budget of the National Economic and Development Authority, Hontiveros asked PSA officials if they conducted an audit or internal probe to determine those behind the alleged late registration scheme that many foreigners abusedw to get fake birth certificates.
The PSA reported that it blocked 1,627 birth certificates of foreign nationals after its investigation showed that the documents were spurious.
The names of the foreign nationals were shared with the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Hontiveros emphasized the alarming proliferation of fake or spurious birth certificates, which some foreign nationals use to obtain government identification and evade immigration laws.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian recently revealed that the processing cost for fake birth certificates and other government IDs is around P300,000.
He said the proliferation of fake birth certificates allows 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,” he said.
During the Senate deliberations on the 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 Bureau of Immigration also expressed concern over incidents involving overstaying foreigners, who misrepresent themselves to obtain Philippine documents and evade immigration inspection.
