Officials of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will be summoned by the Senate to explain the issuance of birth certificates to foreigners, which enable them to get a Philippine passport.
“We can say it’s a national security concern,” said Senator Aquilino Pimentel III. “This is even more important than the national budget for one year so… the PSA should take back the Philippine passports from the foreign holders.”
He said a foreigner who is issued a certified true copy of a birth certificate can use it to secure a Philippine passport.
“We are asking PSA to return to the Senate since their budget was approved two days ago,” Pimentel said.
The Senate on Thursday night agreed to recall the plenary approval of the PSA budget for 2024 due to the uncovered irregularity.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri initially aired reservations on recalling the PSA budget, saying it might set a bad precedent in the Senate’s budget deliberations, but the motion to recall of Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva was approved without objection.
Pimentel said in some cases, the recipients of Philippine passports are not Filipinos, although they are carrying genuine passports.
When the Department of Foreign Affairs was pressed about how a Philippine passport was issued to a foreigner, officials said they merely relied on PSA-certified documents.
Zubiri has ordered the Senate Blue Ribbon committee or the committee on public order to investigate the matter.
He also said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said a civil registry of a town in the Caraga region in Mindanao has been issuing birth certificates to Chinese nationals who speak no English or Filipino.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa said Zubiri’s revelation was a cause for alarm since it involved national security.
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged Malacanang to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to protect the country’s national security.
During the hearing on the proliferation of scam hubs in the Philippines, the senator expressed grave concern over the government identification (ID) cards — TIN ID, PhilHealth ID, Alien Certificate of Registration, Alien Employment Permit, and Police Clearance ID — fraudulently obtained for Chinese nationals who work in Smart Web Technology, the recently raided company in Pasay City.
She said the IDs issued to these Chinese nationals enabled them to become legal residents in the Philippines and to get Philippine passports.
“Considering our current dispute in the West Philippine Sea, it is alarming that we are giving an all-access pass to our country to Chinese citizens through these POGO hubs,” Hontiveros said.