1,200 fake birth certificates just ‘tip of the iceberg’

MANILA, Philippines — Senators expressed alarm yesterday over the 1,200 foreigners believed to be Chinese nationals who obtained Philippine birth certificates through late birth registration in the Davao del Sur town of Sta. Cruz since 2016, saying this could be just “the tip of the iceberg.”

Senate President Francis Escudero urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to dig deeper into the issuance of fake birth certificates and locate those behind the illegal activities.

Escudero said the case of suspended Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, who has a Philippine birth certificate even if evidence indicated that she is a Chinese national, was not isolated.

“I think that is only the tip of the iceberg’ so to speak. The NBI should investigate further and find the real and other culprits behind this,” said Escudero. “I believe Guo is not the first and will certainly not be the last to fake a birth certificate.”

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III described as “alarming” the NBI report.

“Alarming report. There should be comprehensive investigation of what happened there. I am sure the good mayor there will help in conducting that investigation,” Pimentel added.

The NBI said not just 200, but up to 1,200 foreigners believed to be Chinese nationals have obtained Philippine birth certificates through late birth registration in the Davao del Sur town of Sta. Cruz since 2016.

The NBI received the information from the acting civil registrar of Sta. Cruz. The NBI is also verifying reports that several of the 1,200 have criminal records.

Last week, initial NBI findings showed that at least 102 cases of questionable late birth registration were recorded in Sta. Cruz town in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Like Escudero and Pimentel, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian described as “alarming, this is very alarming” the problem of the rampant issuance of fake birth certificates for a fee.

“For sure we are just looking at the tip. The problem is deeply rooted...One small municipality, they intentionally made a fake birth certificate,” Gatchalian added.

He said the reports of irregular issuance of birth certificates was reportedly made from 2016 to 2019.

“It goes to show that the late registration policy has been abused. Two individuals were arrested at the airport. They were 32 years old and they were among those who had ‘late registration’,” he stated.

He noted that those arrested individuals claimed they could not recall their childhood, the same story used by Guo when grilled during a public hearing at the Senate.

Gatchalian said the public has become more aware of the issue of manipulated birth certificates after the case of Guo was exposed.

“It has been exposed. (With Guo’s case) the late registration is now too high profile. Previously, people were not aware of the late registration,” Gatchalian added.