MANILA – A former employee of the Marcoses has been arrested at a hotel in Pasay City for allegedly exploiting the First Family’s name to defraud individuals.
According to Police Major General Nicolas Torre III, chief of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), authorities apprehended the suspect based on two warrants of arrest issued related to charges of fraud.
Torre added that the suspect falsely claimed to have close ties to the First Family to persuade contractors and business people that he could influence the procurement process for projects in exchange for a commission of from three to five percent.
The suspect also purported to hold a government position as an undersecretary.
“Bottom line they are peddling their alleged closeness to the First family and they are using this to encourage people, to dupe people into believing that they can actually influence the outcome of procurement processes, especially bidding and supply contracts,” Torre said.
“So hindi totoo ‘yun at hindi sila ito-tolerate ng ating President at First lady,” the CIDG official further said.
The Office of the Special Envoy for Transnational Crime (OSETC), which operates under the Office of the President, reported the suspect’s fraudulent activities to the CIDG.
Following this report, the CIDG conducted surveillance and a manhunt operation against the suspect. It was not disclosed, however, the amount the suspect allegedly obtained from victims.
Torre, meanwhile, urged other victims of the suspect to come forward to file complaints./PN
