A LAWMAKER on Wednesday filed a resolution seeking a congressional investigation of the alleged issuance of false birth certificates to foreign nationals.
The resolution by Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Ziaur-Rahman “Alonto Adiong came as the House started its probe on “unlawful acts” linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
The motu proprio inquiry in aid of legislation was jointly conducted by the House Committee on Public Order and Safety and the House Committee on Games and Amusements.
“We cannot allow these rogue POGO operators to persist. It is imperative that we identify and unmask the masterminds and protectors behind these operations so they can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who had called for the inquiry, said.
Several rescued foreigners, including Chinese who had been POGO workers, attended the probe. Their faces were covered.
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Adiong asked whether the foreigners came to the country to work for POGOs.
Winston John Casio, spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, replied negatively, saying they had been lured by false pretenses.
“Because some of them were allegedly recruited as cooks and waiters,” Casio said.
Casio said that “Dylan,” one of the foreigners who attended the probe, didn’t know he had been sold. When he wanted to leave, he was told that he first had to pay off the debt.
“They took his cell phone, and then, that’s it. He was told that if he could not pay within six months, he could not get out. But there were times he resisted, so he got beat up,” Casio said in Filipino.
Adiong’s resolution, meanwhile, asks the House Committee on Local Government and the House Committee on Justice to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation.
The resolution said “the proliferation of these allegedly fictitious and falsified birth certificates and passports undermines the integrity of the state’s system of identification.”
The alleged “instances of fraud pose a serious threat to national security,” the resolution added.
“We must take immediate and decisive action to address this issue and prevent further exploitation of our systems,” Adiong said.
Lawmakers, including Adiong, have called for a House inquiry after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported that falsified birth certificates had been issued to Chinese by Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur’s local civil registry from 2018 to 2019.
Earlier, it was reported that a 21-year-old Chinese was arrested after he had tried to apply for a Philippine passport with a fake birth certificate.
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