Former Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda on Thursday, May 30 expressed her concern over the seeming “creeping invasion” of foreign nationals in the Philippines.
Legarda made the remark when asked to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo whose citizenship was put into question during the Senate’s investigation into the illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in her municipality.
Guo has repeatedly denied being a Chinese spy, and maintained she holds Filipino citizenship. The mayor also denied having links with POGO companies that were raided by the authorities in Tarlac.
The mayor had claimed that she is a love child of her Chinese father, Angelito Guo and her mother, Amelia Leal Guo who is their Filipino house helper.
However, recently, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Risa Hontiveros have obtained tax documents alleging that Guo’s mother is a certain Lin Wen Yi.
“It could be a creeping invasion. Nakikita natin na hindi naman manggagaling na sa karagatan o sa ere ang mga invasion ngayon (We can expect the invasion to happen not from the seas or in the air). It could be cultural, economic, and this time, it’s political,” Legarda told reporters in a press briefing at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
That is why, Legarda said, she finds it necessary to look into the root of the problem, be it in the process of granting birth certificates and other documents at the office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“Dapat talaga tingnan natin, saan ba nanggaling ito? Sa pagpeke ng mga birth certificate at mga dokumento ng mga government agencies kaya posibleng ang taong dayuhan ay magiging Pilipino at magiging kwalipikado para mahalal ng mga Pilipino (So we really need to check, where did this happen? Was it due to the fake birth certificates and other documents in government agencies that’s why foreign nationals can become Filipino and become qualified to be elected by Filipinos)?” Legarda asked.
“So napaka seryosong isyu ng (So this is a very serious issue on) national security ang ating sinisiyasat dito at hindi dapat pabayaan ang hearing na walang katapusan (and we should scrutinize this, and not let the hearing end),” she said.
As a Colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve Corps, Legarda said national security issues are very important to her, that is why she is certain that Guo’s case “is not an isolated issue.”
“Napakahalaga sakin ng isyung to hindi lamang sa isang small town mayor (Kung di) sa iba pang possible infiltration ng ibang bansa. Hindi lang sa mga halal na posisyon kundi sa ibang areas of security sa ating bansa (This issue is very important to me not only because a small town mayor is involved, but also the possible infiltration of other countries. Not only in elected positions, but in other areas of security in our country as well),” she said.
“This is not new. It’s sinister enough to plant foreign nationals to pretend to be Filipinos then to govern even just a small town and have illegal activities, and violating Philippine laws,” Legarda said.
At the same time, Legarda rejected insinuations the Senate’s ongoing investigation on Guo’s identity is a form of Sinophobia nor a move to persecute the Filipino-Chinese community.
“Definitely not. No. We're doing this for the Filipino people, the Filipino nation upholding our rights as citizens of our beloved country. And this is for everyone's sake including the Filipino-Chinese community,” she said.
“We're doing it for everyone. It's really not just an economic issue but i said a national security concern,” the lawmaker stressed.