A Chinese national pretending to be a Filipino was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Daet, Camarines Norte, as part of ongoing operations to remove foreigners violating Philippine laws.
The arrest follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to tighten enforcement on foreign nationals staying in the country illegally.
BI intelligence agents, together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), and other operatives, caught 45-year-old Wu Zhishi on June 25. He was found along J. Pimentel Street, Barangay V, after agents posed as customers in his business.
Wu was using Philippine-issued IDs and was claiming to be a Filipino in his dealings. He presented only an expired retiree visa card but denied faking any Filipino identity.
Investigators said Wu used the fake documents to apply for a gun license, which raised further security concerns. He was immediately arrested and handed over to PAOCC for custody.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado warned that the illegal use of Philippine documents by foreign nationals is a serious threat. “This poses as a risk to national security as these aliens are able to embed themselves in society, perhaps doing illegal activities by using someone else’s identity,” he said.
Viado urged agencies issuing national IDs and other official papers to tighten their screening. “There is a need to review policies on the issuance of Philippine documents to prevent this from happening again,” he added.
