Photo credit: BI

Two Chinese nationals who allegedly posed as Filipinos to secure government IDs and run businesses have been arrested in separate operations in Luzon and Mindanao, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

The arrests come amid President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s intensified campaign to safeguard national security, with the BI’s Intelligence Division leading the operations in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and other intelligence agencies.

BI Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said operatives from the Regional Intelligence Operations Unit–5 arrested Jucan Hong in Barangay Bitano, Legazpi City on February 2.

Hong was reportedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino to obtain government-issued identification, including a driver’s license reflecting Philippine citizenship, and to conduct business in the area.

A day later, a separate team from RIOU11 and BI intelligence personnel in Mindanao arrested another Chinese national, Qingzhuang Ke, in Barangay Cuambogan, Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

Ke allegedly assumed the Filipino identity “Jimmy Reyes” and secured a delayed registration birth certificate under a fictitious name. Investigators said he used the documents to acquire multiple Philippine IDs, open bank accounts, register vehicles, and operate a warehouse business as a supposed Filipino owner.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado issued a stern warning following the arrests.

“Citizenship is not a costume that foreigners can wear when it is convenient,” Viado said. “Those who falsely claim to be Filipinos to gain privileges, evade the law, or manipulate our systems will be arrested, prosecuted, and deported.”

He added that identity fraud threatens public order, economic fairness, and national security.

Both foreign nationals are now in BI custody and are facing deportation cases for misrepresentation and other immigration violations. Deportation proceedings will proceed once their cases are resolved, the agency said.