To curb the abuse of late birth registration — a loophole exploited by Alice Guo and other foreigners to legitimize illegal activities in the country — Senator Win Gatchalian is backing the full digitalization of the civil registry system. He believes that going digital will enhance transparency and prevent fraud in official records.

“The way to solve it is digitalization from end to end, from the hospital and the local civil registry up to the central data system, so we can detect anomalies faster,” Gatchalian said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has endorsed to the Office of the Solicitor General the cancellation of 1,472 birth certificates, including that of Guo. PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa told the Senate Finance panel that the Tarlac RTC voided Guo’s birth certificate on September 24, and noted that no marriage record exists for her parents despite the claim on her certificate.

“We also need to hold accountable the officials who enabled this. Let’s plug the gaps,” Gatchalian added.

The Finance Committee Chair backed PSA’s ₱477 million digitalization budget and said additional funding could be considered if needed.