Senator wants special office to stop spread of fake govt docs

SEN. Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday underscored the need for the creation of a specialized unit or office to prevent the proliferation and use of fake government documents by foreigners engaged in illegal activities.

Cayetano made the remark as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee conducted its hearing on the use of government documents which were faked by unscrupulous individuals and sold to foreigners.

He said the widespread counterfeiting of government-issued documents weaken the reliability of the country’s identification system, even as he stressed that law enforcement agencies should be able to stop this.

“There are so many nationalities that fake our documents just so they can obtain Philippine passports but those who helped produce fake passports are not prosecuted… Others directly make fake passports, others use fake documents so they can get real passports…

Both are alarming as the other because the international community will not trust the Philippine passport,” Cayetano said as he cited an instance when Indonesian citizens were arrested while carrying Philippine passports so they can join a Hajj pilgrimage.

He called on the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to intensify their efforts in running after and prosecuting violators, as he assured that the Senate will give its full support to these agencies in stopping the problem.

“I want to help you to find solutions. We have to equip you, but you need to tell us kung ano ang kailangan (what you need),” he said.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, Blue Ribbon Committee chairperson, said strict measures are needed to prevent the unauthorized use of government documents such as birth certificates, passports, and taxpayers’ identification numbers.

It was learned during the hearing that thousands of security papers used by the PSA were either lost or stolen.

Based on data provided by the PSA, the top local civil registers that issued the most number of fake birth certificates were those in Manila, Caloocan, Quezon City, Pasay City, and Pasig City as of March this year.

Sen. Pia Cayetano said the PSA report is “very concerning as it