Three men yielded counterfeit money, documents, and alleged drugs in a raid in Sampaloc, Manila on Monday.
Police identified the suspects as Paulo Guevara, 35, resident of the said area; Francis Tuwaly, 27, resident of Sta. Cruz, Manila; and Datu Haron Mangundatu, 34, resident of Malate, Manila.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso led the raid at around 11:40 a.m., along with elements of the Manila Police District-Special Mayor's Reaction Team (MPD-SMaRT), Sampaloc Police Station, Quezon City Police District, and representatives from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Guevara was served a search warrant issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 Judge Thelma Bunyi Medina for violation of Articles 166, 168, and 176 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
Fake P1,000 bills, Chinese passports, senior citizen and person with disability (PWD) identification cards, tea bags containing suspected marijuana, and drug paraphernalia were retrieved from the suspects.
"Mahihirap matatamaan nito, sigurado ako, kasi 'pag sa bangko, mahahalata 'to, eh (The poor will be targeted with this, I am sure, because if they use this in banks, they will be caught)," Domagoso said, referring to the counterfeit money.
The Manila mayor also said that the printing of fake senior citizen and PWD IDs mess up the city government's database, leading to delays in the distribution of allowances.
"Mga walang hiya, pati benepisyo ng tao ninanakaw (Shameless people, stealing even people's benefits)," he said.
The arrested suspects are now under police custody and will be facing appropriate charges.