A PHILIPPINE senator on Thursday urged police to look into foreigners who allegedly use the identities of dead people to get government-issued IDs amid reports of rising kidnapping incidents involving foreigners.
“A lot of foreign nationals, those from mainland China in particular, are using identities of dead persons so that they can avail themselves of rights and be considered as Filipino citizens,” Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito told a Senate investigation of kidnappings.
“We have to verify the authenticity of these viral videos of kidnapping incidents so that we can attack the problems already head on and not cause panic to our countrymen,” he added.
Fortunato S. Manahan, Jr., deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, said they have received reports of foreigners using fraudulent passports and birth certificates to enter the country.
The senator’s call came after National Capital Region Police Office Regional Director Jonnel C. Estomo said police should ask for IDs from foreigners suspected of being members of crime syndicates.
Mr. Ejercito and Senator Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares on Monday filed separate resolutions urging the Senate to probe kidnapping incidents. — John Victor D. Ordoñez