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BOGUS BILLS. Allied Bank Manager Zeny Uy (r) presents
fake paper bills to Central Bank investigator Andres Catanjal
(l) which surfaced few days after the May 14 elections.
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The
proliferation of P1000 and P500 counterfeit paper bills
deposited in at least four banks here is triggering
speculations that these may have been used to buy votes
during the recent polls.
As
of Friday, bank officials of Allied Bank, City Savings
Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and
Cooperative Bank of Bohol have discovered a total of
P19,000 fake bills that were presented to Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas investigator Andres Catanjal.
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Catanjal
flew in from Manila after alarming reports of the proliferation
of counterfeit money was made by the Bohol Bankers Association
President Rodney Lumuthang last Wednesday.
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The
Banko Sentral personnel came to check if the counterfeit
bills proliferation is election-related. It may be recalled
that PNP Central Visayas issued a public advisory days
before the elections that bogus paper bills may be used
in vote-buying activities.
DBP
alone has received 9 fake P1,000 paper bills and 4 P500
bills. Allied Bank received 4 fake P1,000 bills and
2 P500 bills.
However,
DBP Branch Manager Ma. Ofelia Tesorio clarified that
some of the counterfeit bills turned over by their bank
was discovered prior to the May 14 elections.
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The
discovery of fake bills right after the May 14 polls have
spurred talks that these were used to buy votes.
Massive
vote-buying in Bohol has been observed in some towns where
some candidates reportedly shelled out P200 to P3,000 for
each voter in their areas.
Vote-buying
activities of candidates in the province was observed to be
rampant in the hotly contested mayoralty race of Panglao,
Trinidad, Loay, Albur, Guindulman, Calape and Candijay.
According
to Allied Bank Manager Zenaida Uy, their bank had discovered
the fake bills after the elections, three P1,000 bills bore
the same serial numbers IW409158.
These
counterfeit bills were reportedly deposited by clients from
the towns of Loay, Loon and Calape.
According
to Catanjal, the counterfeit bills will be brought to the
Central Bank for examination while the Bohol Bankers Association
has issued a public advisory on the proliferation of fake
bills.
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