BACOLOD City – With the continued proliferation of counterfeit money, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) urged residents of Negros Occidental, especially small vendors, to report any case to their office.
“There’s really counterfeit money circulating in the province as manifested by those being received by the BSP-Bacolod,” Bacolod branch acting deputy director Maria Jocelyn Ladero said in a statement on Monday.
She also stressed that most victims of counterfeit bills are small vendors.
Ladero made the call after the local BSP office launched the new P20 and the enhanced P5 coins here earlier this month.
She said that anybody can come to their office and submit counterfeit bills or doubtful notes although it is usually the commercial banks that turn over fake money to BSP-Bacolod.
“We receive numerous pieces of counterfeit money everyday. Anybody can report, not only the banks,” she said.
Once they receive the questionable bills, the local BSP branch predetermines if the bills are really counterfeit or have value, and any doubtful notes submitted are being sent to the main office in Manila.
The BSP Currency Analysis Redemption Division will have the final say in the determination of the value of the notes. If found counterfeit, the BSP can confiscate and change it.
Ladero said that fake bills in circulation are normally in higher denominations like P1,000 and P500.
“We have no idea yet where these counterfeit money are manufactured,” she said, but if they received reports of production of fake banknotes in an area, a team from the Cash Department then conducts necessary action. (with a report from PNA/PN)
