A LAWMAKER has asked the House of Representatives to investigate the continuous forgery of documents, such as diplomas and school transcripts, in Claro M. Recto Avenue on Manila’s University Belt.
In House Resolution 2230, Party-list Rep. Leah S. Paquiz of Ang Nars described Claro M. Recto Avenue or “Recto University” as a one-stop shop for those who resort to “manufactured” documents for employment and other purposes.
Paquiz, citing a report by the Philippine Council of Engineers and Architects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), said the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) has gathered data showing that a number of Filipinos working as engineers and architects in KSA used fraudulent documents.
“The reported data shows that a total of 120 in 2011, 143 in 2012, 281 in 2013, 460 in 2014 and 497 in 2015 Filipino engineers and architects were found to have been using forged credentials,” she said.
The lawmaker added that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, KSA, has reported that it is presently handling a number of criminal cases alleging the involvement of Filipinos who presented fake credentials in entering the Kingdom.
“One such case is that of a Filipino nurse in Jeddah, who not only faces criminal prosecution for the felony of forgery of documents but stiffer penalties and prison terms for the crime of malpractice,” Paquiz said.
She said the lower chamber should investigate the adverse and damaging activities at the so-called Recto University and for the government, in cooperation with the private sector and other instrumentalities, to find a successful mechanism and systematic means to put a stop to these illegal activities.
“It is public knowledge that documents, such as identification cards, receipts, school transcripts, diplomas and documents supposedly authenticated with red ribbon by the Department of Foreign Affairs or any other forged documents, can be sourced at Recto University for a fee and in a few hours,” Paquiz said.
She also said the illegal practice has placed Filipino professionals and skilled workers, here and abroad, in a disadvantageous position by having the workers’ images tainted with deceit.
“The Recto University is in itself passively allowing discrimination to proliferate against our workers as we are being branded as fraudulent workers,” Paquiz added.