The city government of Davao refuted on Monday false reports against the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office (CRO) which was dragged by some mainstream media to the case of illegal registration of Chinese nationals.
“It has come to our attention that media outfits like Manila Bulletin, Politiko, DZMM Teleradyo, DZMM Teleradyo, News5, Bombo Radyo Philippines, DWRB 103.9 News FM and K5 National/International News have spread fake news after irresponsibly citing the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office in their reports pertaining to the case of illegal registration of Chinese nationals in the Municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur,” the city government said in a statement.
This developed after Lanao del Sur First District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong allegedly said he is favoring the filing of criminal charges against four employees of the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office over the alleged issuance of fraudulent birth certificates for Chinese nationals
The city government emphasized that the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office has no jurisdiction over birth registrations processed by local civil registrars in cities and municipalities outside of Davao City, including those in Davao del Sur.
It can be recalled that earlier this month, the National Bureau of Investigation-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-SMRO) confirmed that charges have been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao against employees of the Municipality of Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur over this matter.
In July last year, NBI 11 discovered about 200 falsified birth certificates issued to Chinese nationals from 2018 to 2019 in Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur.
This came up after NBI 11 apprehended a Chinese national who allegedly had a fraudulent birth certificate issued at the municipality’s LCR office.
“The city government of Davao strongly refutes these false claims against the Davao City CRO and we confirm that no employees from the office have been filed with cases related to the said incident. We call on media organizations to exercise responsible journalism by verifying facts before publication. The media should not be instruments of misinformation and should avoid misleading the public,” it said.
The city government assured that the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office and the whole of the city government of Davao remain committed to transparency and upholding the integrity of its services.
