The office of Vice President Sara Duterte warned the public against unscrupulous individuals pretending to be legitimate employees of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
This came after the authorities arrested a man who posed as an employee of the OVP in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
According to police, the suspect, identified as a certain Joel Calis pretended as OVP staff to solicit financial assistance for the project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Luzon.
Vice Presidential spokesman Reynold Munsayac said the public should verify the identity of individuals who are transacting on behalf of Duterte’s office.
”Pinag-iingat po ang publiko laban sa mga mapanlinlang na tao at grupo na nagpapanggap na empleyado ng (The public should be wary against unscrupulous individuals and groups pretending to be employees of the) Office of the Vice President (OVP),” he added.
He advised the public to call the official OVP telephone numbers 8532-5942 / 8370-1719 to verify the identities of individuals claiming to be OVP employees.
“Hinihiling din po namin ang tulong ng mga mamamayan na masugpo ang ganitong panloloko sa pamamagitan ng pagrereport ng mga gawain na ito sa OVP at sa mga otoridad (We are also asking for the help of the people to put a stop to this kind of scam by reporting incidents like these to the OVP and authorities),” Munsayac said.
He asked the public to report to the OVP, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) by sending photos and videos of the individuals.
Calis, who is president of RNA Foundation Philippines, Inc., pretended that the financial assistance will be for the benefit of DSWD Region 3’s projects for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and solo parents.
The police said that criminal complaints against the suspect are being prepared for filing in court.