Senator Win Gatchalian is seeking to deter foreign nationals seeking to fraudulently obtain Philippine citizenship, similar to the case of Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, by introducing a new civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system.

Gusto natin ng bagong CRVS system para wala nang sumulpot na isa na namang Alice Guo, ‘yung nagpapanggap na Pilipino at gustong makapasok sa gobyerno para manloko,” said Gatchalian, citing recent court decision that found the former Bamban mayor to be undoubtedly Chinese.

Authored by Gatchalian, the proposed Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act seeks to implement a modern and simplified registration system necessary to establish the most precise identity of an individual for administrative and legal purposes.

The bill imposes higher penalties for forgery of civil registry documents, submission of false information during civil registration, and facilitating the preparation of civil registry documents containing fraudulent information.

Gatchalian cited the PSA’s data showing that as of November 2024, the agency has already blocked 1,627 suspicious birth certificates linked to foreign nationals, 18 of which have been endorsed to the Office of Solicitor General for cancellation.