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National security concern: Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros appeals to the National Security Council (NSC) and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) to look into reports that foreign nationals are able to get legitimate Philippine documents such as identification card and birth certificate through fraudulent means to allegedly get a Philippine passport. During Monday’s deliberation on November 13, 2023 on the proposed budgets of the NICA and NSC, Hontiveros said that based on the hearing conducted by the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality last November 10 on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) related crimes, it was revealed that POGO employees, particularly Chinese nationals, managed to obtain legitimate documents in the country. “Maybe the end game of POGO is not just the POGOs themselves but to penetrate our important institutions and undermine our national security, and it seems that POGO operations are not only limited to the national capital region, they have an expansion policy plan in Cebu, Iloilo, and other parts of the country,” Hontiveros said in Filipino. The senator expressed the belief that these POGO-related incidents have national security implication. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)