MANILA, Philippines — Members of the House of Representatives' Quad Committee filed a bill on Wednesday, November 20, aiming to fast-track the termination of fraudulently acquired birth certificates by foreign nationals.
The Quad Committee, which has been investigating extrajudicial killings linked to the drug war and illegal offshore scam hubs, uncovered a scheme where foreign nationals obtained Philippine land using forged birth certificates. This allowed them to circumvent the constitutional ban on full land or business ownership by non-Filipino citizens.
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House lawmakers also cited a report revealing that the local civil register in Davao del Sur issued 1,200 falsified birth certificates in July 2024.
"All these things were fraudulently done for reasons that are perhaps based on their self-interest," Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, 2nd District) said in an ambush interview. He added that foreign nationals may have paid public officials a "large sum of money" to receive a birth certificate.
To prevent further cases, House Bill 11117, also known as the Fraudulent Birth Certificate Cancellation Law, proposes the creation of a special committee dedicated to investigating fraudulent birth certificate cases and recommending the filing of complaints.
Current procedure. But doesn’t the government already have the authority to cancel birth certificates? It does, but cancellation can only be done through judicial proceedings or by filing a petition with the appropriate courts, as outlined in Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.
House lawmakers filed this bill to expedite the cancelation process.
“Unfortunately, even if our government agencies have already accumulated substantial evidence clearly showing that a foreign national has obtained a birth certificate through fraudulent means, the cancelation of the birth certificate still requires a judicial order,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
What can the special committee do? The special committee’s functions include issuing subpoenas to gather evidence, such as affidavits, records and testimonies, related to the unlawful acquisition of birth certificates by foreign nationals. It may also recommend appropriate agencies to pursue deportation, criminal, civil or administrative actions.
According to Section 8 of the proposed bill, foreign nationals have 15 days to submit a verified response after receiving the complaint.
How will they decide? After conducting a clarificatory hearing, the special committee will issue a decision on the cancellation of birth certificates based on the evidence presented. This requires the vote of at least two committee members.
The revocation of fraudulent birth certificates obtained by foreign nationals will take effect immediately, even while an appeal is pending before the Office of the President. It can only be overturned if the president decides the birth certificate is not fraudulent.
Involved agencies. If the bill is passed, it will include the Civil Registrar General of the Philippine Statistics Authority, as well as representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, and the Office of the Solicitor General.
This is the fourth bill that Quad Committee members have filed in response to their inquiry’s findings. The other three are:
- House Bill 11403 or the Civil Forfeiture Act
- House Bill 10986 or the Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Act
- House Bill 10987 or the Anti-Offshore Gaming Operations Act
The proposed legislation was introduced by House representatives Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., David “Jay-Jay” Suarez, Barbers, Bienvenido M. Abante Jr., Dan Fernandez, Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano, Romeo Acop, Johnny Ty Pimentel, Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, Francisco Paolo Ortega V, Jefferson Khonghun, Jonathan Keith Flores, Jil Bongalon, Migs Nograles, Ernesto Dioniso Jr., Joel Chua, Zia Alonto Adiong, Lordan Suan and Cheeno Miguel Almario.