3 nabbed for fake money

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested three people on Friday for allegedly manufacturing fake peso bills since last month, officials said yesterday.

NBI and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas operatives confiscated 20 fake P1,000 bills from Richard Ansus, four fake P500 bills from Anthony Cuatico and three more fake P1,000 bills from Irmalynne Pablo during a sting at a compound in Sta. Cruz, Manila on March 10. 

Scanners, printers and reams of paper were also seized from the suspects.

The operatives were armed with a search warrant issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 50.

NBI head agent Raoul Manguerra said yesterday the three manufactured the fake bills and used them for purchases at stores in the Sta. Cruz area.

He said the last transaction they made using the fake bills, which prompted authorities to apply for a search warrant, happened on Feb. 23.

The BSP’s Currency Issue and Integrity Office (CIIO) verified that the bills confiscated from the suspects were indeed fake.

“There is a certain roughness that you can feel on the surface of the genuine bills while the fake ones have a smooth surface,” Maja Gratia Malic of the BSP-CIIO said. 

“Also, one must notice that serial numbers in genuine bills will never be the same, whereas fake bills contain the same serial numbers,” she said.