Guo probes may polish late registration rules

A DEPARTMENT  of Justice (DOJ) official on Tuesday said congressional inquiries over dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo’s citizenship and business dealings may hopefully result in legislation which would plug the holes in the system of late birth registration.

During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum at the Philippine Information Agency office in Quezon City, DOJ Prosecutor General Officer-in-Charge Richard Anthony Fadullon said the ongoing hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate will bring about an end to the abuse of the system of late birth registration.

The law allows a person to secure a birth certificate years after actual birth.

He said the late-registered birth certificate are usually used to secure other official documents, such as marriage licenses and passports.

"On late registration, we know for fact that it is being availed for as long there is a basis, case to case basis. We also know there has been a lot of abuse," Fadullo said.

"(W)e have to make the measures stricter (but) that will not do away (with late registration)," he said.

Guo, who had left the Philippines despite an immigration lookout bulletin order, previously said her birth was registered when she was already a teenager.

Further investigation showed she was actually born in China and came to the Philippines with her businesswoman mother.

Among the sectors which benefit from the late registration system are so-called stateless persons, including those who become stateless due to conflict and the so-called Nikkei-jin, referring to Japanese emigrants and their descendants who have established families and communities in recipient countries.

Most of these Japanese are those whose Japanese fathers were conscripted to the Imperial Army during World War II but were subsequently captured or killed.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Japanese descendants in the Philippines have an average age of 81 years.

Bureau of Immigrations deputy spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said the Philippines remain committed to its national action plan to end statelessness in the country.

"In compliance with the United Nations, we do have the RSPU (Refugees and Stateless Persons Unit). We do have protection officers who determine whether a person is qualified considering that he is stateless," Mabulac said. (y Benjamin Pulta)