By Ferdinand Patinio | Philippine News Agency
In a statement on Saturday, June 28, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged all government agencies responsible for issuing official Philippine documents to tighten their processes to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently acquiring Filipino identities.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado expressed alarm over the increasing misuse of Philippine documents by illegal aliens, saying it poses a serious national security threat.
“This poses a risk to national security as these aliens are able to embed themselves in society, perhaps doing illegal activities by using someone else’s identity,” Viado said in a news release.
“We have raised this concern before and we are raising it again. There is a need to review policies on the issuance of Philippine documents to prevent this from happening again,” he added.
The Immigration chief issued the statement following the arrest of a 45-year-old Chinese, who had been posing as a Filipino in Daet, Camarines Norte.
The illegal alien, identified as Wu Zhishi, was caught on June 25 using fraudulently obtained Philippine identification (ID) cards, including one presented to obtain a firearm license.
Wu, who initially presented an expired retiree’s visa and denied wrongdoing, is now under the custody of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, pending deportation proceedings. (PNA)
