Junrey Cagay, 28, was arrested by police for allegedly manufacturing fake peso bills along Colon Street in Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A criminal complaint was filed on Monday against the 28-year-old man who was arrested by police for manufacturing and selling fake money bills in downtown Cebu City.
Junrey Cagay, a resident of Barangay Quiot, Cebu City, was charged before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office for forgery and illegal possession of bank and treasury notes.
The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines prohibits “forging or falsification of treasury or bank notes (money bills).”
If found guilty, Cagay will face an imprisonment from six to 10 years.
When presented before the prosecutor, Cagay opted not to undergo a preliminary investigation which could have given him the chance to refute the allegations. As a result, the charges against him are set to be elevated to the trial court.
At least P24,000 worth of fake peso bills were seized by policemen in an operation along Colon Street in Cebu City last Saturday.
Cagay was arrested after he turned over pieces of fake P1,000, P200, and P100 bills to an undercover policeman who posed as a buyer.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak said Cagay is just one of “several” persons who proliferate fake money bills.
Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), yesterday urged the public to be careful and to make sure that their money bills are genuine.
“Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given us clues on how to determine genuine and fake money bills,” he said.
Last December 2016, Councilor Tumulak coordinated with the BSP after receiving information about the proliferation of fake money bills in Cebu City.
With the help of the police, he said they were able to track down Cagay.
SOURCE: BSP
Each fake money bill was sold by the suspect at P20.
In an interview after he was arrested, Cagay admitted having manufactured fake money bills. He said he started engaging in the illegal business just a month ago.
Cagay, an Information Technology graduate, said no one taught him how to make fake money bills and that he manufactured them upon the request of customers.
A representative of BSP who requested anonymity said the public should take note of the distinguishing features of genuine money bills especially the embossed print which cannot be replicated.
If the paper bill is a bit rough to the touch, she said it is an indicator that the money bill is genuine. Otherwise, it is fake.
Other security features in the bank notes or money bills include visible and embedded security fibers, a serial number with an ascending or increasing size, and watermarks, she said.
The watermark also shows the shadow image of the portrait and the money bill’s denomination on the blank space when viewed against the light from either side of the note.