Hontiveros looking into P500K payment for each PH passport issued to foreigners

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said her office is looking into the alleged P500,000 payment for the issuance of Philippine passports to foreign nationals.

Hontiveros disclosed such information as she welcomed Ombudsman Samuel Martires’ statement that the anti-graft body will look into the alleged issuance of Philippine passports to foreigners.

“We are currently looking into information that foreign nationals allegedly pay P500,000 per passport,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“I trust that the Ombudsman will investigate this exhaustively and get to the bottom of the issue. Mukhang may mga ahensya ng gobyerno na kailangan maglinis ng bakuran kasi ang daming nagkakalat (It seems  there are government agencies that need to clean up their ranks),” she went on.

On Tuesday, Martires said they will study the alleged issuance of legitimate Philippine passports and government IDs to foreign nationals.

The Ombudsman said they will study if corruption is involved in these allegations.

The issue of alleged issuance of Philippine passports to foreign nationals was raised during the Senate plenary debates on the proposed 2024 national budget while the alleged issuance of legitimate government IDs to foreigners were disclosed in a recent Senate investigation on POGOs.

“Philippine passports are NOT for sale. No foreign national should treat this official document as mere commodity. This is an offense to our Filipino identity, our history, and our national dignity,” Hontiveros said.

Last week, 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 pose 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 will 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 the printing of passports, both said they are also investigating the matter.

On Monday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and 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. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News