SOLICITOR General Menardo Guevarra yesterday said the Philippine Statistics Authority has endorsed cases of fraudulent birth certificates obtained by foreigners, mostly Chinese, for cancellation.
Guevarra said his office would ask Congress to come up with legislation that would pave the way for the cancellation of such birth certificates due to the huge number of cases involved.
“The PSA has endorsed to us for cancellation a list of registered birth certificates fraudulently obtained by aliens, mostly Chinese,” Guevarra said in a Viber message.
“But considering the huge number of these cases, exceeding 1,500 in one civil registry office alone, we have recommended to Congress the enactment of a law that would authorize administrative cancellation of such birth certificates in lieu of a tedious and expensive judicial process,” he added.
He did not identify the civil registry with the highest number of fraudulent birth certificates the PSA wants to be canceled but earlier reports said more than 1,200 false birth certificates were issued by the local civil registrar of Davao del Sur as of last July.
A proposed legislation – House Bill 11117 authored by Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers – is seeking to establish an administrative process to expedite the cancellation of birth certificates fraudulently acquired by foreigners.
The proposed bill covers those involved in illegal drug operations and other criminal activities associated with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
It was filed amid the controversy generated by disclosures that thousands of foreigners have fraudulently secured birth certificates in the country.
