THE National Bureau of Investigation-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) revealed that as of Monday, July 15, 2024, the number of alleged questionable birth certificates issued by the Local Civil Registry (LCR) of Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur has surged from nearly 200 to 1,200.
These registrations were filed from 2016 to 2021.
Atty. Archie Albao, regional director of NBI-Semro, said during the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps Press Conference on Wednesday morning, July 17, 2024, at The Royal Mandaya Hotel that on Monday they discovered a new spurious birth certificate issued by the LCR of Sta. Cruz with the help of the local government unit (LGU) of Sta. Cruz through Mayor Nelson “Tata” Sala.
“As of last Monday, we got 1,200 na ang (that are) allegedly spurious or mga falsified na mga birth certificates coming from Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. At this time, ongoing ang amoang pag imbestiga usa-usa sa mga birth certificate (we are currently investigating the birth certificates one by one), and also the whereabouts of these persons,” Atty. Albao said.
While not all of the 1,200 alleged spurious birth certificates belong to Chinese nationals, Albao reported that they have already verified some of these certificates and were found to be legally processed.
“Dili siya tanan spurious [not all are spurious], but one of the parties is Chinese national. Halimbawa, mama or papa Chinese, but ilang anak ilang gipa-register late registration [for example, if either the mother or the father is Chinese, they register their child through late registration]. But I would not say nga spurious ni or fake ang mga information, ang uban niini tama [that this is all spurious or fake, some of these are true],” he said.
At least one or two identified fixers have already been identified, and the NBI-Semro is tracing their whereabouts and the identities of other fixers and will be subpoenaed for the investigation.
Albao expressed that there is a possibility that some of the LCR officers or employees in the municipality may be involved, as some of the identified fixers are from Luzon or Manila.
“They have a contact from Sta. Cruz and sure pod mi nga dili lang ni nahitabo sa Sta. Cruz kay the last time we arrested a Korean national iyaha pong birth certificate coming from Zamboanga (we are sure that this is not only happening in Sta. Cruz, as we have also arrested a Korean national whose birth certificate came from Zamboanga),” Albao added.
He also shared that during his assignment in Pampanga, he arrested a Chinese national working for a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) and later discovered that the individual's birth certificate came from Sta. Cruz.
He expressed that the use of non-existent and assumed Filipino names adds to the dilemma of identifying who is behind each spurious birth certificate.
“Mga pangalan ani kay Filipino names, mga assumed name, but behind this birth certificate dili mga Pilipino ang uban, mga Chinese nationals. Lisod kaayo pangitaon kung asa ni kay wala man address sa birth certificate (these names are Filipino names, assumed names, but behind these birth certificates, some are not Filipinos, they are Chinese nationals. It's very difficult to trace where they are from because there's no address on their birth certificate),” Albao said.
Also, some barangay captains from the Municipality of Sta. Cruz had issued certifications stating that these individuals are not from their barangay. Albao said that this has helped prove that these individuals are not from Davao del Sur.
“For us, it imposes a threat to our national security, kay wala ta kabalo kung kinsa ning mga tawhana [because we do not know who these people are],” he said.
While the new count of 1,200 spurious birth certificates pertains to registrations filed between 2016 and 2021, Albao expressed that since the validation and investigation are still ongoing, there may be more to uncover.
In the case of Hengson Limosnero, a 21-year-old Chinese national apprehended for using a falsified birth certificate when applying for a Philippine passport, Limosnero’s birth certificate was filed at LCR Sta Cruz in 2013. Charles Lj Sido, Silliman University Intern