PCG tightens vetting after 36 auxiliaries with shaky citizenship

The Philippine Coast Guard is enhancing its vetting process for auxiliary members after discovering that 36 individuals with 'shaky' citizenship or identified as Chinese nationals were previously allowed to join the PCGA.

During a Senate defense committee hearing, PCG Capt. Xerxes Fernandez revealed that businessman Joseph Sy, also known as Chen Zhong Zen, was recently delisted and found to have fraudulent Philippine identity documents.

Fernandez emphasized during the hearing that while the PCGA was initially established as a socio-civic volunteer group with no security clearances, current circumstances necessitate stricter rules due to potential intelligence-gathering risks.

Senators expressed concern over the possibility of foreign agents exploiting connections built at Coast Guard events for intelligence gathering purposes.

The PCG official assured the panel that measures are being taken to address these risks and safeguard institutional integrity by drafting more stringent vetting measures.

Senator Risa Hontiveros highlighted the case of Joseph Sy, who was detained by the Bureau of Immigration on August 21 for misrepresenting himself as a Filipino with fraudulent documents.