Senator Christopher ‘’Bong’’ Go on Friday warned Filipinos against scammers who use his name and urged the public to report perpetrators to the proper authorities.
Go issued the advisory following the arrest yesterday by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of an individual for representing himself as connected to the office of Go and extorting money from business people and private individuals.
“Pinapaalalahanan ko po ang ating mga kababayan: huwag po tayo magpaloko. Kung walang magpapaloko, hindi mananaig ang mga manloloko (I am reminding our countrymen not to be fooled by scammers. If we do not want to be fooled, scammers will not succeed),” Go said.
“Para naman sa mga manloloko, maawa naman kayo sa kapwa ninyong Pilipino. Nasa gitna tayo ng krisis, gamitin n’yo sana ang oras ninyo para tumulong kaysa gumawa ng kalokohan (To the scammers, pity your fellow Filipinos. We are in the middle of a crisis, use your time to help others instead of fooling them),” he added.
Go called on authorities to crack down on imposters doing illegal acts to fool fellow Filipinos, saying that the Duterte administration would not tolerate such acts of deceit.
“Magsumbong po kayo. I-report ninyo. Galit tayo sa mga manloloko. Kapag hinayaan natin mga ‘yan, mas marami pa ‘yang mabibiktima (Report any illegal act you know. We do not like people fooling their fellowmen. If we will allow them to continue with their illegal activities, more people will be victimized by them),” Go urged.
“Lahat naman tayo gusto makaraos sa hirap, lalo na sa panahon ng krisis. Pero gawin natin ito sa paraang hindi nanlalamang o nangsasamantala ng kapwa. Ang bayanihan natin at pagmamalasakit sa kapwa ang kailangan upang malampasan ang mga pagsubok na ating hinaharap (All of us want to be free from difficulties, especially during crisis. But let us do it not at the expense of our fellowmen. We need to help one another in order for us to overcome the challenges we are facing),” he appealed.
The NBI on Thursday, March 11, announced the arrest of an individual by NBI-Special Operations Group (NBI-SOG) for representing himself as being connected to Go and extorting money from unwitting business and private individuals. In a statement issued by NBI, an operation was conducted following a complaint by one of the victims alleging that a certain John Carlos Garcia introduced himself to be connected to Go.
The perpetrator was reported to have defrauded business people and private individuals from the provinces of Albay, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal. The NBI stated that Garcia was sighted in a resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan on March 10, 2021, using the car he purchased from one of his victims. NBI-SOG proceeded to apprehend him with a warrant of arrest.
At the height of the pandemic, Go has also warned Filipinos against individuals who use his name and President Rodrigo Duterte’s for their own vested interests. The senator emphasized that he and President Duterte would not allow these unscrupulous individuals to profit using their names and that even their families and friends are “prohibited to use their names for vested interests.” Go also appealed to the public to remain vigilant to avoid falling for these scams.
He also warned scammers that justice will eventually catch up with them.