Authorities Arrest Chinese National at NAIA for Pretending to Be Filipino
Authorities stopped a Chinese national at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after discovering that he had been passing himself off as a Filipino.
The man, identified as 60-year-old Chen Zhong Zhen, was intercepted by immigration officers at Terminal 3 upon his arrival from Hong Kong on August 21. He was flagged based on a mission order after intelligence reports suggested that he had secured Philippine documents through questionable means.
Chen presented a Philippine passport issued in 2021, along with several local identification cards that all indicated he was Filipino during the checking. However, further verification revealed otherwise.
Experts from the Bureau of Immigration’s Alien Registration Division compared his records and confirmed that his fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national who once held a long-term visa and an Alien Certificate of Registration.
Investigators also learned that Chen has established several businesses in the Philippines and has even taken part in different economic and business organizations.
Despite his attempts to blend in, officials clarified that a foreigner cannot claim Philippine citizenship unless granted through naturalization, which Chen never went through.
“Without naturalization, a foreign national is not eligible to get Philippine citizenship documents, Government intelligence sources have reason to believe that this is another case of assumed Philippine identity, similar to that of Alice Guo,” Viado said.
Immigration authorities suspect that this is another case of a foreigner taking on a false Filipino identity, drawing parallels to previously exposed incidents involving questionable citizenship claims.
As of this writing, Chen is facing a deportation case for misrepresentation. He is being held at the Bureau of Immigration’s detention center in Bicutan, Taguig while legal proceedings are underway.
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