The traitors in our midst

Even the most talented scriptwriters of the best Netflix series would probably find their jaws dropping in bewilderment and shock with all the plot twists in this seemingly never-ending Alice in Wonderland fairytale, Manila edition.

It’s as bizarre as it can get. Here is Alice, back in Manila via a private jet after being caught by Indonesian authorities, still making a mockery of our institutions, our law-enforcement agencies, our Immigration policies and our Senate.

Alice told a Senate panel on Monday that they left the country via a yacht which they boarded right in the City of Manila. However, she isn’t very sure which part of the Manila harbor – the busiest port in the country – they departed from.

This is the latest script that’s being fed to everyone following this edge-of-your seat drama. It’s different from the first version which said that they left on a small boat from Pangasinan.

Either she is lying to keep the narrative confusing or she’s really hopelessly and impossibly bizarre.

The truth is, our senators may never be able to fully unmask Alice Guo or to really squeeze the whole truth from her.

However, it’s not a futile investigation. It has, in fact, led to policy changes, including a ban on Philippine offshore gaming operations.

Security concern

But more importantly, this whole Alice in Wonderland saga is pointing to a very disturbing reality in the Philippines, which our authorities must immediately address.

I’m talking about the existence of syndicates issuing fake birth certificates and fake passports or illegally issuing such legitimate documents.

This is appalling, disturbing and most of all a treachery to our people and our country.

This is a serious security concern and each and every Filipino who is involved in this crime is a traitor of the worst kind and must be dealt with as such. In ancient Greece, high treason was punished severely, including the loss of citizenship for oneself and family.

Here in our country today, these traitors among us must be brought to justice.

Imagine what could happen if our official documents are forged, bootlegged or sold illegally.

Never mind the fact that the most ordinary of ordinary Filipinos need to spend hours if not days just to get their official documents – whether it’s a birth certificate, a passport or a driver’s license.

Years ago, for example, I remember a domestic helper who missed her flight to Malaysia because she could not get a passport. Why? Because she needed two government IDs but she only had one, a Philippine Postal ID.

Her employer had to enroll her in a driving school so she could get a driver’s license, which would then serve as her second ID so she could get a passport. But by then it was too late.

But as I said, never mind that. Filipinos are used to incompetence anyway.

What is more disturbing, however, is the impact of this on our security.

If our passports and birth certificates can easily be acquired illegally for a song, the same goes for land registration titles and other crucial documents.

We may wake up one day and a big portion of our country is already owned by foreigners who managed to produce fake IDs or fake land titles in acquiring properties.

Porous borders

We must also guard our borders because as Alice Guo has clearly shown, it’s so easy to escape the country, especially with our porous borders unguarded. Security is made worse by the fact that border patrols and immigration authorities just conveniently look the other way to help fugitives escape the law.

What is our society, really, but a tale of dark comedy in continuous motion, if not an edge-of-your seat Netflix series playing in a loop over and over.

If this Alice in Wonderland saga would help solve one thing, let it be this problem of fake documents and ID mills. For instance, there is supposedly a fake birth certificate factory in Davao, catering to mostly Chinese nationals.

Such treacherous activities are alarming and President Marcos should not allow this to continue right under his nose.

Unless we bring these perpetrators to justice and quash the syndicates they work for, we may remain a nation of fools and traitors.

Our country is a stark and sad reminder of how greed, selfishness and betrayal have, time and time again, sold this nation’s soul.

Fernando Zóbel: Future of the Past

On the lighter side, “Fernando Zóbel: The Future of the Past” has arrived in Asia, premiering at the Ayala Museum after a four-month run at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.

The exhibit will feature more than 200 works by the painter Zóbel, including sketchbooks that have never been seen by the public.

I missed the vernissage but I was told that the exhibit will run until 2025, in celebration of Ayala Corp.’s 190th founding anniversary, the 100th birth anniversary of Zobel and the 50th anniversary of Ayala Museum.

Benjamarie Therese ‘Jing’ Serrano, 61

I offer my deepest condolences to the Villar Group and the family of Benjamarie Therese “Jing” Serrano, the president and CEO of AllHome.

I had the chance to meet her before as a reporter covering the Villar Group. Her husband Tirso described her as “a woman of purpose, a generous heart and faith like no other.”

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.