TIN IDs used by foreign workers in raided POGO hub in Pasay 'authentic' —PAOCC exec

The Tax Identification Number (TIN) IDs that were recovered from foreign workers in a raided POGO hub in Pasay City were found to be “authentic,” an official from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said Friday.
 
Undersecretary Gilberto Cruz disclosed this during a Senate hearing into the alleged human trafficking activities inside the raided building in Pasay City, which was recently raided by authorities. 

“From our initial verification made with the commissioner of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), and then personally chineck niya po ‘yung mga BIR IDs -- kasi po nu’ng pumunta kami doon, ‘yung nga IDs na ito and chineck po nila with their system their database system and nagulat po sila nang malaman nila na nakapasok po sa sistema nila itong mga IDS na ito. So authentic po,” Cruz said. 

The PAOCC official said they are investigating how these foreign nationals applied to get the TIN IDs because the usual procedure in getting this would require personal appearance in BIR offices. 

“Part po ng investigation [if they appeared before the BIR] but ang tinitingnan namin dito, normally pag nag-aapply ka personal eh for the agency to take pictures and the signatures, but ang nakakagulat lang dito even the PhilHealth dikit-dikit ang ID. So ibig sabihin talagang fixer ang kausap nila dito,” he said. 

Cruz presented the seized IDs before the committee during the hearing. Apart from TIN IDs, authorities also recovered PhilHealth IDs and Certificate of Alien Registration, Alien Employment Permit, and police clearance IDs. 

PhilHealth Regional Vice President for the National Capital Region Bernadette Lico, who was present at the hearing, said employees of the raided POGO have records in their database but they have yet to verify the authenticity of the IDs that were seized as these are “most probably fake.”

“Currently, sa database namin meron silang PhilHealth employers number. Ang ginamit po nila sa pag transact sa amin is online po using the central business portal ng [Securities and Exchange Commission],” she said. 

“Wala pa pong mga hard copy ng mga documents nila sa amin kasi currently nag-apply pa lang po sila through online noong August 2023 and based sa database namin wala pa ho silang contributions at walang nakalista na mga employees,” she added. 

Lico said they can validate the PhilHealth IDs through their PhilHealth numbers. 

She also noted the possibility that POGO firm had required them to register with PhilHealth prior to their employment. 

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led the investigation, asked PhilHealth and other government bodies which issued the confiscated IDs to provide copies of the application forms that their respective offices had received from the firm.
 
Hontiveros said she finds the issuance of these IDs to foreign nationals “very problematic.”

“These IDs would legitimate their stay in the Philippines at ang isang matinding problema dito ay baka binibigyan natin ng identity pati mga fugitives mula sa ibang bansa,” she said.
 
Hontiveros raised the need to find out if the issuance of the “fake and fraudulently obtained” government IDs has already become a cottage industry.

She also echoed the concerns of her fellow senators on the Filipino birth certificates that are allegedly being produced for Chinese citizens, which are then used to apply for Philippine passports. 

“Bakit kailangan nitong mga Chinese na i-peke ang nasyonalidad nila para maging Pilipino dito sa bansa? If their only motive is to work, they can do so by applying for alien employment permits. Why the need to cover up their nationality to become Filipino?” Hontiveros said. 

“This makes us ask: Are POGOs being used as conduits to allow enemy forces and their spies into our country? Maybe POGO and scam hubs are not the end game. Maybe the end game is to infiltrate our borders and weaken our national security, with our own Filipino officials as enablers,” she added. 

In a separate statement, Hontiveros urged Malacañang again to ban POGOs to protect the country’s national threat. 

“Dapat i-ban na ni Presidente ang mga POGO. Kung totoong gusto niyang depensahan ang bansa natin laban sa mga nambabastos sa ating soberanya, isama niya na ang buong industriya ng online gambling sa mga pinapalayas sa ating teritoryo,” she said. 

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who filed the resolution calling for an investigation into the issue, concluded that the Philippines has become the “human slavery hub of the world.”  —KBK, GMA Integrated News