Sen. Gatchalian seeks probe on fake birth certificates amid Bamban Mayor Alice Guo issue

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is seeking a Senate investigation into the "alarming" proliferation of fake birth certificates and the abuse of the late birth registration system.

Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution No. 1053, prompted by irregularities in the birth certificates of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and her alleged family.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed that Amelia Leal, listed as Mayor Guo's mother, has no birth, marriage, or death certificate on record.

Gatchalian noted discrepancies in the birth certificates of Mayor Guo and her siblings, including their father Angelito Guo's citizenship being registered as Filipino despite being Chinese.

The senator highlighted PSA data showing an average of 972,830 delayed birth registrations annually from 2023 to 2022, suggesting leniency in current practices.

The inquiry also considers that foreigners may be using fake birth certificates and late registration to obtain government IDs, evade immigration laws, and engage in illicit activities.

Mayor Guo is being linked to a POGO hub in Bamban, which was raided for alleged violations of human trafficking laws and serious illegal detention.