Fake P500 bills spreading in Baguio, Ilocos region

SAN FERNANDO, La Union – The regional office of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) here revealed that fake P500 bills are proliferating in Baguio City and the Ilocos region.

There are fears that these counterfeit P500 bills could be used to buy votes in the May elections.

Senior Superintendent Marvin Bolabola, CIDG Ilocos regional chief, disclosed during a meeting of the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (RLECC) here that the fake P500 bills were discovered in a cockpit in Pangasinan and during the recent Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City.

"There is a possibility that the fake notes are also spreading in the Ilocos region now, that’s why we are warning the public," Bolabola told The STAR.

Bolabola, together with Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, Ilocos police director and RLECC chairman, said it is possible that the counterfeit money is now being used to court voters in the region based on complaints the police have received in La Union.

"We are warning the public to be aware of these fake bills because they might be used to buy votes," Bataoil said.   

Ernesto Corpuz, acting assistant manager of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ regional office here, confirmed to The STAR the proliferation of the fake P500 bills in Baguio and Ilocos region.

Corpuz showed several fake bills that carried the words "Faith in God and faith in our people" below the Philippine flag and above the signature of President Arroyo.

"The wordings on a genuine P500 bill are ‘Faith in our people and faith in God,’" he said.

He said a genuine P500 bill has a smooth surface and the picture of Sen. Benigno Aquino, particularly on the watermark, is not blurred.

Corpuz added that the fake P500 bills have the year 2004 marking on the watermark on Ninoy’s forehead but they were apparently printed just recently.

He said the fake bills came out at around November or December last year.

BSP director Primo Quitulio said he has reported the matter to their head office in Manila.

"Our machines have discovered so many counterfeit notes and they were coming from deposits, mostly in Baguio City," he said.

Quitulio said the BSP central office has sent investigators to Baguio City to consult local bankers and traders on the counterfeit bills.