Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City  
20TH CONGRESS  
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 1416 
Introduced by: REP. JOEL R. CHUA 
Explanatory Note 
This bill seeks to provide for an administrative cancellation of birth certificates 
fraudulently registered by foreign nationals. During the 19th Congress, a similar Bill was 
filed by this Representation as a product of the hearings conducted by the Committee on 
Good Government and Public Accountability. Unfortunately, due to the lack of material 
time, the same was only approved on 2nd Reading.  
This Bill is the same as what was approved on 2nd Reading by the 19th Congress. As 
such, this Representation reiterates my explanation stated in the original: 
A birth certificate is the most basic document a Filipino citizen must have. 
It is a document which provides the imprimatur of the State that an individual is a 
Filipino and opens to the individual vast opportunities unavailable to foreigners, such as 
practicing a profession, pursuit of certain businesses, or even to run for public office. 
Regrettably, recent events have revealed that there are thousands of foreigners who 
were able to fraudulently secure birth certificates. Since then, the National Bureau of 
Investigation and Philippine Statistics Authority have been consistently urged by Congress 
to double-down their investigation on these issuances. Unfortunately, even if our 
government agencies have already accumulated substantial evidence clearly showing that 
a foreign national has obtained a birth certificate through fraudulent means, the 
cancellation of the birth certificate still requires a judicial order. 
As such, these foreign nationals shall remain innocent until proven guilty by the 
courts — a result that will take years before it is attained. This sad state of affairs cannot 
be allowed to continue. 
Foreign nationals who have been proven to have acquired birth certificates through 
fraudulent means should not be given a venue to prolong their stay in the Philippines, or 
worse, to legitimize their fraudulent birth certificates and their Filipino citizenship. The 
July 7, 2025
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persons responsible for causing or facilitating the erroneous entries in our civil registers 
must also be held accountable. Hence, this bill primarily seeks to provide for an expedited 
procedure to cancel any birth certificate fraudulently acquired by any foreign national, after 
due notice and hearing, in order to prevent them from inflicting further harm to our society. 
It is time to put an end to these unlawful activities. Being a Filipino citizen should 
not be so easily acquired or given away by unscrupulous and selfish individuals who only 
wish to attain Filipino citizenship to fuel their self-interests. 
Being a Filipino is something that we should always honor and zealously protect. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
   REP. JOEL R. CHUA 
       3rd District of Manila 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City  
20TH CONGRESS  
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 1416 
Introduced by: REP. JOEL R. CHUA 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE CANCELLATION OF BIRTH 
CERTIFICATES REGISTERED THROUGH FRAUDULENT MEANS BY 
FOREIGN 
NATIONALS, 
CREATING 
A 
SPECIAL 
COMMITTEE 
ON 
CANCELLATION OF BIRTH CERTIFICATES AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Fraudulent Birth Certificate 
Cancellation Law". 
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote a just and 
dynamic social order. Towards this end, the State shall enact policies to safeguard and 
protect the integrity of the most basic information of its people, especially their birth and 
nationality. 
Section. 3. Scope. - This Act shall cover the cancellation of birth certificates 
registered through fraudulent means by foreign nationals. 
Section 4. Special Committee on Cancellation of Birth Certificates. - A Special 
Committee on Cancellation of Birth Certificates, herein referred to as the "Committee", is 
hereby created for cancellation of birth certificates registered through fraudulent means by 
a foreign national. The Committee is composed of the following: 
a) Civil Registrar General of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as
Chairperson; and
b) Representatives of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Local
Government, and Justice with a rank of Undersecretary, and the Office of the
Solicitor General with a rank of Assistant Solicitor General, as members.


Section 5. Committee Secretariat. - The PSA Board Secretariat shall act as the 
secretariat of the Committee. The Committee Secretariat shall accept complaints involving 
birth certificates registered through fraudulent means by foreign nationals, assign docket 
numbers, schedule hearings, and issue notices thereof. 
 
Section 6. Powers and Functions. - The Committee shall have the following 
powers and functions: 
 
a) Formulate rules of procedure concerning the investigation, filing and reception 
of complaints, conduct of hearings, and appeals involving cancellation of birth 
certificates registered through fraudulent means by any foreign national; 
 
b) Conduct clarificatory hearings and investigations on birth certificates registered 
through fraudulent means by any foreign national; 
 
c) Issue summon, subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum to secure the production of 
all necessary evidence concerning cases of birth certificates registered through 
fraudulent means by foreign nationals such as affidavits, records, testimonies, 
and other pertinent documents; 
 
d) Promulgate decisions, after due notice and hearing, concerning complaints of 
cancellation of birth certificates registered through fraudulent means by any 
foreign national; 
 
e) Recommend to the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice and the Interior and 
Local Government, the Ombudsman, and other appropriate agencies the filing 
of deportation, criminal, civil and administrative cases under existing laws 
against foreign nationals, private individuals and public officers and employees 
who have participated in the fraudulent registration of birth certificates of a 
foreign national; and  
 
f)  Perform such other powers and functions necessary to attain its objectives. 
 
Section. 7. Complaint. - Any person of legal age, including duly authorized 
representatives of law enforcement agencies, may file with the Committee Secretariat, a 
verified complaint for the administrative cancellation of a birth certificate registered 
through fraudulent means by any foreign national. The complaint shall set forth the 
following: 
 
a) Name of the foreign national, which shall be sufficient to the extent that such 
individual is known by such name; 
 
b) Last known address of the foreign national; 
 


 
c) Particulars of the fraudulent birth certificate; 
 
d) Specific acts, events, and circumstances which establish the illegal acquisition 
of a birth certificate by the foreign national; and 
 
e) Such other proof necessary to establish the illegal acquisition of a birth 
certificate by the foreign national. 
 
Section. 8. Answer. - Within ten (10) days from the filing of the complaint, the 
Committee Secretariat shall require the foreign national to submit a verified answer to the 
attached complaint within a non-extendible period of fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof. 
 
Section. 9. Case Report. - Within thirty (30) days from the submission of the 
verified answer of the foreign national, the Committee Secretariat shall submit to the 
Committee a report including the case records stating all the pieces of evidence provided 
by the parties. 
 
Section. 10. Clarificatory Hearing. - Upon receipt of the case report, the 
Committee may conduct a clarificatory hearing and inquire on any matter to properly 
decide the case. 
 
Section. 11. Weight of Evidence. - The Committee shall decide on the complaint 
based on substantial evidence or the amount of relevant evidence that a reasonable person 
would consider adequate to support a conclusion. 
 
 
Section. 12. Decision. - The Committee shall evaluate all evidence presented by the 
parties, and with a vote of at least two (2) Committee members, shall issue a decision to 
cancel the birth certificate of a foreign national which was registered by fraudulent means 
within thirty (30) days from receipt of the report from the Committee Secretariat. The 
decision of the Committee shall be immediately executory pending appeal to the Office of 
the President. 
 
The decision shall likewise recommend whether criminal, civil, administrative, or 
deportation proceedings, as the case may be, should be pursued against the foreign national, 
any person, public officer, or employee who may have participated in the illegal acquisition 
of birth certificate. 
 
Section. 13. Appeal. - Any person adversely affected by a decision of the 
Committee may file an appeal with the Office of the President within fifteen (15) days from 
receipt thereof. The Office of the President shall decide on the appeal within thirty (30) 
days from the filing of the appeal. 
 


Section. 14. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of 
this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Philippine Statistics 
Authority. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation of 
this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
Section. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from 
the approval of this Act, the Committee shall promulgate the pertinent rules and regulations 
for the effective implementation of this Act. 
 
Section. 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remaining parts provisions not affected shall remain in full force and 
effect. 
 
Section. 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations and 
other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, 
amended or modified accordingly. 
 
Section. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,