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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider BI arrests 'fake' Filipino in Batangas

BI arrests 'fake' Filipino in Batangas

Published Feb 24, 2026 02:58 pm
A foreigner has been arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Batangas for posing as a Filipino and for “fraudulently acquiring” Philippine documents.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado presented before the media on Tuesday, Feb. 24, the arrested foreigner who was identified as Chinese national Zhi Ling Guan. He said that Zhi admitted he is not a Filipino.
Viado said that Zhi also uses the aliases Shis Nengyuan and Mike Sy. The “fake” Filipino was arrested last Feb. 20 at the Batangas port, he also said.
Viado said that the Chinese national was using fraudulently his acquired Philippine passports and driver’s license using the name Mark Sy.
“Philippine citizenship is not a commodity that can be fabricated or acquired through deception,” Viado declared.
He warned: “Any foreign national who falsely claims to be Filipino and manipulates our systems to secure official documents will face arrest, detention, and deportation.”
He said the BI acted on the information it received from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) which sought the verification of the identity of the person.
“Biometric checks and inter-agency verification established that the fingerprints appearing in identification documents under the name ‘Mike Sy’ matched those of Zhi Ling Guan, a Chinese national,” he also said.
At the same time, Viado said that the foreigner had used Philippine passport to travel internationally while falsely claiming Filipino citizenship.
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