Senator Loren Legarda (Voltaire F. Domingo / Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has logged 71 suspected cases of foreign nationals who illegally acquired Philippine passports, according to Senator Loren Legarda.
In a press conference on Thursday, Legarda said that the DFA is investigating these cases and has already coordinated with the relevant authorities.
“There are a total of 71 suspected cases of foreign nationals who were able to fraudulently acquire Philippine passports, currently being investigated by the DFA,” the senator said.
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“This was endorsed to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) for case handling and further investigation. I’m not sure if they’re Chinese, but [they are] foreign nationals,” she added.
Legarda pointed out that these findings “clearly undermine public confidence in the institutions and government and place our national security at risk.”
In November last year, Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed that foreigners, many Chinese nationals, are spending as much as P500,000 to obtain authentic Philippine passports to legitimize their stay in the country.
READ: BI: Foreigners illegally acquiring PH docs a ‘national security concern’
Under the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, a passport may only be issued to Filipino citizens who have complied with the requirements, including submission of a birth certificate or other documents proving citizenship.
The law also punishes any person who willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in their passport application with a fine of not less than P15,000 but not more than P60,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Moreover, the same penalty applies to anyone who grants, issues or verifies any passport or travel document to anyone without the lawful authority to do so.