The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has identified the Local Civil Registry Office of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur as responsible for the issuance of nearly 200 fraudulent birth certificates, primarily to Chinese nationals.
After conducting a verification process, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa confirmed that the birth records were traced back to the local civil registry officer of Sta. Cruz.
Mapa said the implicated civil registrar has been relieved of his duties by the local chief executive in align with the PSA's recommendation.
“As of this writing, we received a report that the concerned Civil Registrar was already relieved by the Local Chief Executive from his duties in line with the PSA’s recommendation to look into the matter as a result of the fact-finding investigation conducted by the agency in a similar incident last year,” Mapa said.
The discovery of fake birth certificates is not a new issue. In November 2023, a Senate investigation exposed over 300 fraudulent birth certificates linked to both foreigners and Filipinos, which were used for Philippine passport applications during that year.
Mapa, however, assured that they are taking efforts against fake birth documents, such as conducting thorough investigations, working closely with law enforcement agencies, and flagging questionable birth records in the PSA database.
He added that the PSA is building strong cases to support petitions for the cancellation of birth records or certificates.
“The PSA encourages the public to report illegal or unauthorized activities involving civil registration documents (CRDs) or fraudulent CRDs,” Mapa said.
Last week, the NBI disclosed that approximately 200 forged birth certificates were purportedly issued by a local civil registry to Chinese nationals between 2018 and 2019.
This revelation came to light following the arrest of a 21-year-old Chinese national by NBI-Davao for attempting to obtain a Philippine passport at the Department of Foreign Affairs-Davao using counterfeit documents.