BI alarmed over proliferation of genuine but illegally-acquired PH passport
By Jun Ramirez
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco expressed alarm over the use of genuine, but illegally acquired Philippine passports by overstaying foreign nationals
The BI chief noted that immigration officers have seized a number of fraudulently-acquired passports since the start of the year.
"These undesirable aliens misrepresented themselves to be able to secure all sorts of Philippines documents to escape immigration inspection," he said.
In one instance, Tansingco recounted that 36-year old Chinese national Zhang Hailin was stopped from boarding his flight to Vietnam after immigration officers doubted that he was the owner PH passport under the name of Alex Garcia Tiu.
Zhang also presented an authentic Philippine birth certificate, even as his passport bore counterfeit immigration stamps. He later admitted his true nationality that he has been overstaying since 2020.
In another case, a female Vietnamese national identified as 24-year-old Huynh Thanh Tuyen presented a fraudulently-acquired Philippine passport under the name Maria Dantic Menor in her attempt to board a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Saigon, Vietnam.
Upon secondary inspection, Huynh admitted that she got her Philippine passport with the help of another Vietnamese friend.