NCRPO warns public of fake bills

MANILA, Philippines – National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome alerted his men yesterday against big-time syndicates believed to be behind the proliferation of fake peso bills in Metro Manila during the Christmas season.

“We should gather information against these fake peso bills syndicate, where they operate and arrest them before they could victimize hundreds of innocent Metro Manilans,” Bartolome said in an interview.

The NCRPO director directed his five district directors to go hard against the syndicate after a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official claimed that a syndicate from Southern Luzon is distributing fake P1,000 bills as Christmas shopping has begun to peak.

The BSP is not discounting the possibility that other syndicates are distributing bills in smaller denominations such as P500 and P100.

In the past years, forgery gangs would strike during the Christmas season when shopping is at its peak.

Bartolome said he will coordinate with the BSP for a joint effort in neutralizing the forgery syndicates.

He added that fake peso bills could only be circulated in Divisoria and different markets in Metro Manila but not in malls, where cashiers are armed with necessary equipment to detect them.

Despite the BSP advisory, however, Bartolome said the NCRPO has not received complaints from the public with regards to the proliferation of fake peso bills in Metro Manila.

“But just the same, the public should be warned against this racket to prevent the spread of these fake peso bills during the Christmas shopping rush,” he said.