Fraud, fraud and more fraud!

Did I hear over DyAB former Cebu Customs Collector Billy Bibit attacking Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) for cheating in the last elections? Wait! A couple of months ago, I recall, asking Mr. Bibit for an explanation as to why a luxurious BMW 645 C was running around in Cebu with an 8-plate number and we only got a deafening silence from him. People like Mr. Bibit have no right to throw stones when he also lives in a glass house!

The word fraud seems to be in everyone's mouth these days and they haven't stopped talking about this, especially those people who believe that they were cheated in the last elections. Yet I'm inclined to believe the very people who cry fraud are probably the people who commit them with impunity. If you didn't know, fraud is also happening with people who are not with the government. Here's a few interesting stories you ought to know.

Yesterday, a "So the Public May Know" ad appeared on page A-3 of SunStar Daily which showed the pictures of the prominent members of the Board of Management of the German Auto giant Audi AG where warrants of arrests for Estafa through falsification of Public Documents were filed by Auto Prominence Corporation in the Regional Trial Court of Alaminos City. Audi is a very prestigious German car company and I refuse to believe that its board members would gyp a local auto dealer here. For sure, there was fraud committed by someone and it is time to dig deeper into this case because it could very well affect RP-German business relations.

Another potential fraud may have been committed by Korean Electronics giant Samsung, who sells a 29-inch television, which in reality is only a 27-inch tv. This happened to my brother Rene a couple of weeks ago, when he responded to an ad by HSBC Bank, which gave a free Samsung television set to people who secure a gold credit card from HSBC. While this promo was "unbelievable" as advertised, my brother found another thing that was unbelievable… when he measured his newly acquired 29-inch tv and found out that he only got a 27-inches tv! But the Samsung box clearly indicated that he got and paid for a 29-inch tv.

I don't know what you can call this, but in my book, there's a world of a difference between a 27-inch versus a 29-inch tv… and I am a staunch believer of "Truth in Advertising". Perhaps we ought to ask Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director-7 Asteria Caberte to look into this potential problem and let Samsung explain to the public why their 29-inch television, which naturally carries a higher price, is actually only 27-inches? So if you folks are planning to buy a Samsung tv, perhaps you should wait until Samsung comes out with a proper explanation.

You folks ought to be careful out there as PT Barnum used to say, too many "are born every minute!" Of course, he meant gullible people. Well, here's another potential fraud story. An affidavit in the form of an advertisement came out of SunStar Daily last June 17,2005, which declared that a certain Anecita Segura was the sole heir of deceased Spouses Valeriano and Encarnacion Segura and that this affidavit was notarized by a certain Ethelwoldo R. Fisalbon Notary Public for record purposes, where Anecita Segura laid claim to a 1,423 sq/mt. property in Talisay City.

Is it a coincidence that my mother Ascension and seven other Segura siblings were born from the union of Capt. Valeriano Segura and Encarnacion Segura? My first name is Valeriano as I was named after my grandfather. But I've been in Cebu all my life and I have not heard of anyone named Valeriano Segura, except my cousin Val (the son of Archt. Gregorio Segura) who lives in England. Could there be another Valeriano Segura living here who was also married to an Encarnacion? If you ask me, the probability is almost nil! This is why I smell the stench of a dead fish!

By coincidence, this week, we are holding the Segura Family reunion and all my uncles and cousins from the United States are here as balikbayans. I showed this ad to the Segura family meeting last night and they all declared that they don't know anyone named Anecita Segura, nor is there anyone in the Segura family named Anecita.

While my grandparents Valeriano and Encarnacion Segura already died (my grandpa died fighting in Bataan before its fall) all his eight children starting from noted guerrilla and author Col. Manuel F. Segura all the way to Dr. Oliverio Segura are still alive, half of them are above 80 years old.

It is easy to advertise in the newspapers to declare that you're the sole heir of a property, but you should make sure that there are no other sole heirs! So don't say that we didn't warn you that so much fraud is being committed in this country, from election results to electronics products!

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com