The Bureau of Immigration has called for investigations on the issuance of Philippine passports and other identification documents to illegal aliens following the arrest of several foreigners possessing genuine Philippine passports.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente believed that a syndicate is behind in the modus, saying syndicates that assist aliens in acquiring Philippine documents are still out there operating and this would likely have security implications.
Morente said two Indian nationals were arrested by operatives of the BI’s Intelligence Division. They were identified as Satbir Sandhu, 25, and Mandish Sandhu, 24 in a high-rise condominium in Mandaluyong City after falsely representing themselves as Filipinos.
According to BI Intelligence Division Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., the Indians were the subject of a complaint from a concerned citizen.
“Upon issuance of the Mission Order, we located Mandish, who presented an original Philippine passport under the name Jeff Sunga Sandhu,” Manahan said.
“Also with him was his brother, Satbir who presented a Philippine postal ID and Manila Police Clearance under the name Sunny Sunga Sandhu, a Filipino national,” he said.
Manahan said that their fingerprint records revealed that both were former residents in the Philippines and used Indian passports.
Mandish was likewise found in possession of a Philippine birth certificate, saying he was born to a Filipino mother.
“We have observed this to be a modus. Illegal aliens would acquire authentic documentation saying that they are Filipinos, and would at times possess birth certificates that were registered late. From this, they are able to acquire more documents for more Philippine IDs,” he said.
In 2016. a total of 177 Indonesians were intercepted by the BI for carrying fraudulently-acquired Philippine passports.
In September 2018, the BI Intelligence Operatives likewise arrested and deported a Chinese woman for using a Philippine passport to work in the country.