Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

CRIME THUMBNAIL-CRIME

Izzy Lee

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) -- The Bureau of Immigration arrested a Chinese national who posed as a Filipino, using fraudulently obtained Philippine documents to hide his true identity.</p><p>The bureau announced Tuesday that the Chinese national was arrested by their Intelligence Division last Friday, February 20, at the Port of Batangas Terminal in Batangas City after operatives discovered during their investigation that he possessed Philippine documents despite being a Chinese citizen.</p><p>The operation was conducted with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines&#x27; Intelligence Service (ISAFP) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). </p><p>After the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that his fingerprints matched records from both the LTO and BI databases, a mission order was issued for his arrest.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/14/another-alice-guo-chinese-woman-posing-as-filipino-nabbed-at-naia-1515">READ: Another &#x27;Alice Guo&#x27;? BI nabs Chinese woman allegedly posing as Filipino</a></div><p>&quot;Ang documents po na hawak ng Bureau of Immigration refer to travel, registration and identity documents. Base po ito sa initial report intelligence report na galing sa ISAFP and eventually na-trace nila nasaan &#x27;yung tao,&quot; said BI Commissioner Joel Viado.</p><p>The suspect was identified as a 47-year-old Chinese national who had assumed aliases and had traveled internationally several times using a Philippine passport.</p><p>According to BI, he traveled four times in 2017 and twice in 2019, with Macau listed among his destinations.</p><p>Viado described the case as a serious violation of Philippine immigration laws and a potential national security concern. </p><p>&quot;We have to consider [a] possible case of espionage. We have to look into that, that warrants further investigation, isang posibleng motibo din &#x27;yan,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Mayroon po kasing similar cases na na embedded po dito. &#x27;Yung iba nga po nakita natin politically embedded. Pagdating sa negosyo embedded din. So we have to look also at the pattern ng mga pangyayaring ganito,&quot; he added.</p><p>In 2025, a Manila court ruled that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping are the same.</p><p>The discovery of Guo&#x27;s Chinese citizenship has raised concerns about national security and loopholes in the Philippine civil registry and its laws.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/29/nbi-confirms-identity-of-new-chinese-national-posing-as-filipino-1409">READ: NBI confirms identity of &#x27;Alice Guo-like&#x27; Chinese national posing as Filipino</a></div><p>BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval explained that the documents presented appeared to be legitimate but fraudulently obtained.</p><p>&quot;As in the past po na nakikita nating trend, they&#x27;ve been using what we call original Philippine passports or Philippine documents that they were able to acquire illegally through the use of fraud,&quot; Sandoval said.</p><p>&quot;In many cases na naaaresto po natin na illegal aliens, they have a myriad of Philippine government identification cards that they acquire through fraud,&quot; she added.</p><p>The bureau also coordinated with the LTO to verify the suspect&#x27;s records.</p><p>According to LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao, he obtained a driver&#x27;s license in 2018 under his Chinese name and later secured another one in 2022 under a Filipino name.</p><p>&quot;Na-locate ito through coordination and pangalawa yung system nito sa LTO. May fingerprint tayo nag-cross match &#x27;yung fingerprint then after ma-cross match &#x27;yung fingerprint, nakita yung mismong picture niyang aktwal. Lumabas na same person,&quot; Lacanilao said.</p><p>The suspect, who claimed to be a businessman based in Mindoro, admitted that he is a Chinese citizen.</p><p>&quot;Mindoro, ang business ko, motor parts,&quot; he said.</p><p>He is now being held at a BI facility pending deportation proceedings.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong><strong><br/><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/fKQeCooD87E?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><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/FAKNVXz0CvQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Authorities said the suspect used Philippine documents and assumed a Filipino name despite being a Chinese citizen, and had used a Philippine passport multiple times for international travel.</p>

Authorities said the suspect used Philippine documents and assumed a Filipino name despite being a Chinese citizen, and had used a Philippine passport multiple times for international travel.

Chinese national 'pretending as Filipino' arrested in Batangas

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Chinese national 'pretending as Filipino' arrested in Batangas

Izzy Lee,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 24, 2026 12:15 PM PHT

|

Updated February 24, 2026 02:20 PM PHT

Read More:

Chinese

fake filipino

crime

BI

immigration

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