Man selling fake money falls

CEBU, Philippines -  A massage therapist was arrested yesterday by the joint operatives of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the police for selling counterfeit money in the downtown area of Cebu City.

Junrey Cagay, 28, was caught in possession of P24,000 worth of fake banknotes in assorted denominations.

An agent of the BSP who requested anonymity for security reason said that Cagay had been under surveillance for one week before the entrapment operation.

“Kanina nung dumating siya, wala siyang dala. Kaninang umaga so we decided to continue with our surveillance operation until nakita namin siya this afternoon at nakuha namin,” the BSP agent said.

Cagay said he just recently learned how to counterfeit bank notes. He claimed to have just made it in internet café. He said that each fake bill costs P20.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said they have been receiving complaints about the proliferation of fake money since December. He said they have also identified a store in Cebu City that also prints fake money.

 “As much as possible, karong Lunes maghimo dayon ta og lakang pagpasira aning tindahan,” Tumulak said.

Tumulak said he asked the police to conduct an in depth investigation into the proliferation of fake money believing that a syndicate could be behind the illegal activity.

He said that the proliferation of bogus money will destroy the economy of the city. Tumulak was concerned about it since the barangay elections is coming.

 “N’ya nag-angat na ra ba sad baya ang barangay election. Dili ta gusto nga mao n’ya ning himuon, simbako, gamiton during the barangay elections. So, ato ni’ng gipugngan gyud as much as possible maputol ni,” he said.

Tumulak urged those who received counterfeit money to report immediately to the police.

“Pag-file og complaint para sad mapasakaan pud nato og kaso kani maong suspect,” he said.

The BSP agent asked the public to help stop the proliferation of fake money. She said that fake bills can be identified from genuine ones because these are made out of commercially available papers.

She added that genuine bank notes also have security features like watermarks that resemble a portrait that can be seen on the right side of the bill. The new banknotes have more than 13 security features which can be seen by tilting it.

Higher denominations have more security features than the others, she said. There is a patch that changes colors from red to green, and green to red depending on the angle.

“Kaya nag-demonitize tayo para i-upgrade natin yung security features,” she said.

The BSP agent suggested to physically check the banknotes by touching, looking and tilting them. She said people should not rely on fake money detector because counterfeiters have also evolved through times.

Counterfeiting banknotes is punishable under Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code or the illegal possession and use of false treasury or banknotes and other instruments of credit.   (FREEMAN NEWS)