Phl passports sold at P500K apiece — Risa
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said she is currently looking into information that foreign nationals allegedly pay P500,000 in exchange for a Philippine passport.
Hontiveros bared this after Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he would conduct a motu
proprio investigation into the alleged issuance of Philippine passports to foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals.
“Philippine passports are not for sale. No foreign national should treat this official document as a mere commodity. This is an offense to our Filipino identity, our history, and our national dignity,” she said.
“I trust that the Ombudsman will investigate this exhaustively and get to the bottom of the issue,” she added.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women that probes Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO-related crimes, stressed that internal cleansing must be done among government offices involved in the illegal scheme.
The Senate panel’s hearing last week revealed that government-issued identification cards are easily given to Chinese POGO workers, which they then use to get a Philippine passport.
“I also revealed in the hearing that there are ads that promote the selling of birth certificates, voter’s IDs, passports, etc., to Chinese nationals,” Hontiveros said.
“This is a serious national security concern. Now that China is far from dialing down on her aggression in the West Philippine Sea, she may be taking advantage of our porous borders, our weakened institutions, and our corrupt officials to advance her interests,” she added.
During the second day of the marathon Senate plenary debates on the P5.768 trillion proposed national budget for next year, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa inquired whether the Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of reports of Chinese citizens obtaining Philippine passports through authentic birth certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Over the past months, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission conducted a series of raids on these POGO companies where they retrieved Philippine passports from foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals.