Sen. Win Gatchalian, co-chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance (COCODA), asks the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to explain why the government loan availment rate is only around 63 percent - an indication of delayed government projects. During the second COCODA hearing, Tuesday, August 1, 2023,  Bibo Nueva España, Senate PRIB

Sen. Win Gatchalian, co-chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance (COCODA), asks the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to explain why the government loan availment rate is only around 63 percent - an indication of delayed government projects. During the second COCODA hearing, Tuesday, August 1, 2023, Gatchalian pointed out that multilateral development banks penalize the borrower, in this case the government, if the loan is not 100 percent withdrawn. “So, how come it is only 63 percent? Loans are available but only 63 percent are availed?” Gatchalian asked. In response, NEDA Assistant Secretary Jonathan Uy said the implementation of government projects had been impacted by the pandemic, given the mobility restrictions. He said the Department of Transportation had the largest backlog of loan availment worth US$2 billion. This represents 53 percent of the total backlog of US$3.97 billion, according to the NEDA official. Bibo Nueva España, Senate PRIB

Sen. Win Gatchalian

Rowegie Abanto

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday vowed to champion reforms in the Philippines&#x27; birth certificate registration after foreigners allegedly skirted government processes to illegally get the document.</p><p>The National Bureau of Investigation recently reported that some 200 Chinese nationals obtained falsified birth certificates in Davao del Sur.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/regions/2024/7/11/chinese-national-with-fake-birth-certificate-caught-applying-for-passport-in-davao-city-1630" id="isPasted">READ: Chinese national with fake birth certificate caught applying for PH passport in Davao City</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/14/psa-cooperating-with-nbi-on-issue-of-falsified-birth-certificates-1540" id="isPasted">READ: PSA cooperating with NBI on issue of falsified birth certificates</a></div><p>&quot;We will definitely reform the entire birth certificate process in our country,&quot; Gatchalian said in an interview on ANC, adding that he is eyeing changes in the late registration process that Bambam Mayor Alice Guo allegedly used to obtain Filipino citizenship. </p><p>Guo faces serious accusations from lawmakers that she is a Chinese national. She however continues to insist on her Filipino nationality.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/5/solgen-seeks-to-cancel-alice-guo-s-ph-birth-certificate-2212" id="isPasted">READ: SolGen seeks to cancel Alice Guo&#x27;s PH birth certificate</a></div><p>&quot;We all know that late registration has been widely abused now and in the past,&quot; Gatchalian said.</p><p>He said he wanted to put additional processes during the first steps of registering a birth, such as verifying whether a child was born in a hospital or through the hands of a traditional birth attendant or &quot;hilot.&quot;</p><div><span>He also proposed implementing changes in the entire structure of the civil registrar.</span></div><p><span>&quot;</span>Right now the national [government] has no administrative power over the civil registrar even though they are the custody of actual birth certificates. So we will also look into the structure so that the accountability will also be more pronounced,&quot; he said.</p><p>The lawmaker pointed out that the civil registrar has &quot;a lot of power and responsibility&quot; regarding the issuance of birth certificates.<span><br/></span></p><div><span>&quot;In fact, birth certificates don&#x27;t go up to the mayor anymore for verification, it is only the civil registrar who issues the birth certificates, the death certificates as well as marriage certificates for the convenience of our constituents,&quot; he said. </span></div><p>&quot;But obviously this convenience has been abused by foreigners and this is actually a very dangerous situation because foreigners become automatically Filipinos and they can buy land, they can get passports, they can run for public office.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/12/price-for-fake-birth-certificates-around-p300-000-gatchalian-1638" id="isPasted">READ: Price for fake birth certificates around P300,000, according to Gatchalian</a></div><p>Nonetheless, Gatchalian urged the Philippine Statistics Authority to come up with administrative reforms ahead of the implementation of an amended law for birth certificate registration.</p><p>&quot;They don&#x27;t have to wait for a law to reform their process,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ADDITIONAL SECURITY</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)" id="isPasted"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Meanwhile, Gatchalian has asked for additional security in light of the alleged threats against him. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Gatchalian revealed on Tuesday that he reached out to the Philippine National Police (PNP) after monitoring a vlog which claimed a supposed threat against his life. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Humingi ako ng dagdag security kay Senate President Escudero at mabilis niya naman binigyan tayo ng dagdag na security para lang mag-ingat dahil itong mga taong nasa likod nito hindi mga ordinaryong syndicates eh. Nakita naman nag-torture sila at nagkikidnap kaya meron silang gantong kakayahan,” Gatchalian said on Teleradyo Serbisyo on Wednesday. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(I asked for additional security from Senate President Escudero and he responded immediately by giving more because the people behind these threats are not from ordinary syndicates. We have seen that they are capable of torture and kidnapping.) </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Gatchalian believes the people responsible for illegal POGOs which the Senate has been investigating may want to get back at him. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He said the Pasay police, which has jurisdiction over the Senate, was looking into the matter. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But Senate President Francis Escudero said Gatchalian has not yet asked for assistance from him. The additional security given to him was when Gatchalian inspected a POGO site before. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But Escudero said he “will always help a fellow member of the Senate and stand ready to assist in whatever way I can if needed by them.” </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“They know that. However, the decision to engage additional security personnel is a personal one that I cannot make for them,” Escudero said in a message. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">ABS-CBN reached out to Guo’s camp but they have not yet responded.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span></span></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y3_WqlqSfLI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mxlLDU3BxFk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The National Bureau of Investigation recently reported that some 200 Chinese nationals obtained falsified birth certificates in Davao del Sur.</p>

The National Bureau of Investigation recently reported that some 200 Chinese nationals obtained falsified birth certificates in Davao del Sur.

Lawmaker vows reforms in birth certificate registration

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Lawmaker vows reforms in birth certificate registration

Rowegie Abanto,

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 17, 2024 12:52 PM PHT

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