SENATOR Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel filed on Tuesday a resolution seeking a probe on the potential national security risks of foreigners using fake government documents to pose as Filipinos amid reports of Chinese students enrolling in local schools with “questionable” credentials.
“I have led countless Senate inquiries that revealed how foreigners not only abuse our immigration process, but also use fake documents to obtain birth certificates and Philippine passport,” she said in a statement.
“It is only natural that we look into if this trend is, in any way, related to Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea.”
Under Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1001, Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel urged the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security to probe the uptick of foreigners with fake credentials.
Senate Majority Leader Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva earlier sought a probe of the influx of Chinese students amid worries that some of them might be spies.
Rommel C. Banlaoi, former president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, earlier said that worries about the uptick in Chinese students in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan could be a sign of anti-Chinese sentiment amid tensions in the South China Sea between Manila and Beijing.
“The Philippines is not for sale,” Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel said. “Nobody should treat our national identity like goods to buy or sell.”
Lawmakers have also sought to ban offshore gaming operators, which are often Chinese companies that hire their own nationals given alleged links to crimes.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing have worsened in the past year as China’s coast guard continues to block resupply missions at Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines grounded a World War II-era ship in 1999 to assert its sovereignty.
Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco earlier said 1,516 Chinese nationals in Cagayan had been given student visas.
“The Philippines is always open to young people from all over the world who want to study in our schools,” the opposition senator said. “But it is a different conversation if fake papers are used and if it is just a cover to enroll in our schools.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez
