Mayor orders probe into ID misuse reports

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY – “We will not take this lightly,” stressed Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez as he directed the City Legal Office (CLO) to investigate a recent report involving an alleged Chinese national reportedly taking photos of driver’s licenses and identification cards (IDs) of some residents in Barangay Estefania in exchange for money.

“This will sound an alarm for us,” Benitez said as he ordered a thorough investigation to determine the intention or purpose of such actions.

Police Captain Francis Depasucat, head of Police Station 4, reported receiving the incident report on July 1.

The police immediately verified the report and spoke with a 29-year-old Chinese national, who claimed to have been residing in the area for years and involved in textile and e-wallet businesses.

Depasucat said the Chinese national did not specify why she was taking photos of residents’ IDs in exchange for snacks, P100, P200, or even higher amounts.

Despite the report, Depasucat mentioned that no complainant has come forward to enable the filing of a complaint against the Chinese national.

“The residents voluntarily showed their IDs, with consent, and there was no intimidation,” he added.

However, Depasucat noted that the police station is open to accepting complaints if anyone wishes to file one.

Depasucat emphasized that this situation could be alarming since the identities on the IDs might be used for illegal transactions. He assured that the investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, on the radio program “Isugid Kay Mayor” on Wednesday night, Benitez said he plans to create a team to further investigate the matter to prevent irregularities or possible criminal acts.

“We will take this as an interesting case,” he said.

Benitez warned that the IDs could be used for identity theft or money laundering.

“We should be careful in giving out such information because it might be used for ill purposes,” he cautioned.

“We will take notice of all of these. At least we have initial information. This might be a smoking gun. We don’t know,” he said, advising the public to be cautious.

Benitez stressed the need for more security features in government IDs for easy validation.

Lawyer Van Encabo from the CLO added that, as of now, no crime has been committed because there was no intimidation or force. “It may seem very harmless, but it is actually tricky,” she said.

Fake Money

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has confirmed that some P500 bills recently discovered to be fake in Libertad Public Market were counterfeit.

Sixteen P500 bills, amounting to P8,000, have been verified and declared counterfeit in a temporary certification dated July 22, forwarded to the city government.

Based on the mayor’s Facebook post, a wallet containing cash was found in the market over the weekend, prompting the market supervisor to check it.

According to the market supervisor, there have been several complaints from vendors about fake money being used to buy goods in the market.

Benitez immediately referred this concern to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), which is now monitoring for counterfeit money.

Benitez emphasized the importance of knowledge and awareness as the best protection against fake documents and counterfeit money.