Personnel of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Central Office have checked on the  Bacolod City Registrar as to how a Chinese national had secured a birth certificate issued by the said office in 2019.

The Chinese national applied for a passport but when interviewed at the Department of Foreign Affairs, the person knew nothing about “Hiligaynon,” the local language, even though his birth certificate indicated he was born there.

Atty. Hermilo Paoyon, head of the Bacolod City Civil Registrar’s Office, said there were two City Hall workers, on job order status, found to have processed the illegal transaction.

It was not clear, though, how much the two workers had collected from the Chinese national as they were sacked reportedly right after they admitted to the modus.

Further, the Chinese national was found to have secured a birth certificate from the Municipality of Hinigaran in the Province of Negros Occidental. It was also discovered that the foreigner has bought properties in the said province. 

The Bacolod City Legal Office awaits a formal letter from the PSA to start its own investigation.  

Mayor Albee Benitez condemned the modus operandi exposed at the Civil Registrar’s Office. He has ordered the City Legal Office to look into the filing of appropriate cases against accomplices of the job order workers involved.