Malacañang has warned the public over an apparent scam that asks victims for a huge amount of money in exchange for a government position.
This after eight "presidential appointees" went to the Palace on Friday, Jan. 27, for their supposed oath taking.
According to the victims, whose identities were not disclosed, a certain Undersecretary Eduardo Diokno and Assistant Secretary Johnson See, both from the Office of the Executive Secretary, instructed them to proceed to the Palace for their supposed swearing in rites to be administered by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
One of the victims received the invitation through a letter.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the victims revealed that "they paid huge sums of money to secure positions in the government after receiving information or invitation about available government positions."
They were told to assume supposed positions including a diplomatic post to The Netherlands, Department of Transportation (DOTr) assistant secretary, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) board member, Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president and chief executive officer (CEO), Early Childhood Care and Development Council executive director and vice chairperson, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) director and Port of Batangas manager.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevara said there was no oath taking ceremony scheduled Friday afternoon and the “appointees” obviously fell victim to fraudsters.
Some of the victims said they already had doubts on the authenticity of appointments and oath taking after noticing some inconsistencies in the information being provided to them by the scammers but they still proceeded to Malacañang.
The Palace has appealed to the victims to cooperate with authorities as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will conduct an investigation on the incident.