By Jennifer P. Rendon
And he’s back.
The elusive poser of Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) commanders known for soliciting mobile phone loads was reported to have again revived his modus operandi.
Police Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, Iloilo police chief, confirmed that he received reports that a certain “Colonel Lucas” asked cellphone top-up loads from municipal mayors.
“I met one mayor who told me that we talked over the phone the other day. I told him that we didn’t. And he narrated to me the incident which I confirmed that he was scammed,” the real Colonel Lucas said.
Some mayors even sent P5,000 worth of phone load to the scammer.
When he knew of the incident, Lucas requested San Enrique Mayor Trixie Fernandez, also the concurrent head of the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)-Iloilo, that an advisory will be released through their Viber chat group to warn other mayors and even other local officials about the scam.
Apart from phone cards, the scammer also solicited fund support for a non-existent IPPO project.
“We are working on trapping the scammer who used the same modus with my predecessors,” Lucas said.
The Iloilo police chief also reminded the mayors that he has only two mobile phone numbers, which he gave them during his visit.
“Please call me to verify any representation using my name,” Lucas said.
It can be noted that Lucas’ predecessor, Police Colonel Roland Vilela, was also victimized by the same scam days after he assumed his post.
Vilela only learned about it after he paid a courtesy visit to Mayor Luigi Gorriceta of Pavia town.
The poser, who introduced himself as Vilela, asked for the contact information of a contractor.
That fake Vilela allegedly wanted to build a house in Iloilo.
The poser then called the contractor and asked for P6,000 worth of mobile phone load cards.
The unnamed contractor gave in.
The other scam using the same modus operandi victimized Governor Samuel Gumarin of Guimaras.
It happened in April 2018 after at least five establishments in the province claimed they got a call from someone who identified himself as the governor.
The scammer targeted several resorts and restaurants in Guimaras.
In November 2018, the same modus operandi also happened in Iloilo City and this time the scammer used the name of former Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr.
The caller placed an order and later asked for P9,000 worth of load from Salt Gastro Pub located at Gen. Luna St., City Proper.
But it turned out that other restaurants also got scammed.
In January 2018, three establishments in Tapaz, Capiz were also duped into sending phone loads worth P41,000 to a caller who identified himself as Mayor Roberto Palomar.
