The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had denied over 170 passport applications of “questionable” foreign nationals, most of whom submitted birth certificates showing delayed registration.
“Since November last year, we were able to prevent the application of questionable nationalities applying for a Philippine passport. More than 171 attempts were prevented from the Office of the Consular Affairs,” DFA Assistant Secretary Adelio Cruz told the Senate subcommittee on finance headed by Sen. Loren Legarda.
Legarda, who is tasked to defend the DFA’s proposed P27.4 billion budget for 2025, had inquired about passport applicants who can’t speak Filipino and other local languages.
According to Cruz, 71 out of 171 of these fraudulent passport applications have been referred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Cruz said most of them were first time applicants and all with delayed registration of births.
While some of the foreigners have provided valid birth certificates, some are “obviously fraudulent.”
“What we do to ensure that this does not happen again is, if it is a questionable application, we get the biometrics of that person, flag it all over the country to avoid their forum shopping, and attempt to apply to other offices,” he said.
Legarda, however, suggested that the DFA discontinue its Temporary Off-Site Passport Services (DFA-TOPS) in order to put a stop to such fraudulent applications.
The senator noted that syndicates helping foreign nationals obtain fictitious birth certificates seem to be using the DFA-TOPS to apply for Philippine passports.
“If the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) has admitted to issuing 1,200 birth certificates, I don’t know if I should call that inauthentic because they were authentic, they were issued, napasukan na, I’m sorry to say, ang PSA, those syndicates can go to any TOPS and apply for a Philippine passport,” she said.
In the end, Legarda said the Senate is willing to provide the necessary funding that would give the DFA the upper hand in the passport application process in order to prevent foreign nationals from obtaining Philippine passports through fraudulent means.
Legarda said it is essential that the DFA be empowered to fulfill their mandate and strengthen the country’s position in the global stage.
“It is essential that we ensure our resources are allocated effectively to address critical issues such as our ongoing efforts in the West Philippine Sea, assistance to overseas Filipinos in distress and our commitment to climate change negotiations, among others,” she said.
Legarda and other senators had earlier raised alarm there could be national security implications if a syndicate is working behind the issuance of fictitious birth certificates to allow foreigners to obtain passports.
The senators cited the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was issued an authentic Philippine passport, and was able to run for local government office and eventually won as a local chief executive despite being a Chinese national.
NBI officials had earlier said Guo’s fingerprints matched that with Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national.