Ombudsman to study alleged issuance of PH passports, IDs to foreigners

The Office of the Ombudsman will study the alleged issuance of legitimate Philippine passports and government IDs to foreign nationals.

“Itong issue sa fake passports, sa [Bureau of Internal Revenue] na nabibigyan ng ID, we still have to investigate this, kung sino ang mga involved na tao. We have to distinguish kasi between the jurisdiction of the [Department of Justice] on what possible laws were violated. And surely, it will also, in the part of the Ombudsman, it might fall under the provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” Ombudsman Samuel Martires said in an interview with reporters.

(We still have to investigate the issue of fake passports and the issuance of legitimate BIR IDs to foreign nationals because we have to distinguish if the Department of Justice has jurisdiction over the cases based on the laws violated.)

Martires was responding to a media query on the alleged issuance of Philippine passports, which was raised during the Senate plenary debates on the 2024 national budget, as well as the alleged issuance of legitimate government IDs to foreign workers in a recently raided POGO firm in Pasay City.

Martires said he saw possible violations of Section 3 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Ombudsman said they could conduct a motu proprio investigation into the matter, like what they did in the alleged anomalous onion supply deal.

“’Di ba yung sibuyas, motu proprio e. Yes, we can do that,” Martires said.

(The investigation on the onion deal was motu proprio. We can do that.)

To recall, the Senate recalled the plenary approval of the proposed 2024 budget of the Philippine Statistics Authority over the alleged issuance of authentic birth certificates to foreign nationals.

According to officials, the foreign nationals posed as Filipinos through “the presentation of authentic and genuine PSA birth certificate, with valid government-issued ID cards that are accepted for a passport application.”

The PSA said it would conduct its own probe over the alleged issuance of authentic birth certificates to foreign nationals, which enabled them to get Philippine passports.

The National Bureau of Investigation and the APO Production Unit, which is in charge of printing passports, said they were also investigating the issue.

On Monday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Risa Hontiveros called on the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and the National Security Council (NSC) to look into how Philippine passports, official government IDs and documents were allegedly issued to foreigners, saying this may compromise the country’s national security. — DVM, GMA Integrated News