By JEFFREY DAMICOG
A woman has been arrested in Talisay City in Cebu for reportedly producing fake government identification cards.
Arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation's Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO) last July 15 was Geraldine Lomongo Tausa.
Recovered from Tausa were about 240 "fake" Bureau of Internal Revenue Taxpayer Identification Number (BIR TIN) cards and 250 blank Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) cards, along with a laptop and printer, the NBI said.
It said it learned of Tausa's operation from a woman identified as Jerissa B. Aricuatro who was arrested in a sting operation earlier that day for selling a fake BIR TIN card online.
“Aricuatro, admitted to being a reseller, cooperated with authorities, and revealed the source of the fake IDs,” it also said.
With the information, the NBI said its agents, in cooperation with the BIR, contacted the source via Messenger and asked to arrange for a Maxim rider to collect a card.
It said “a young boy delivered the card to a decoy rider, leading operatives to his mother's location.”