JOINT operatives of the Bureau of Customs Police Rapid Intervention Group and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group nabbed two persons offering jobseekers to work at the Bureau of Customs in exchange for P50,000 to P100,000.
Cecilia Lucentales and Roliveth Cortes of Pasay City were nabbed in an entrapment operation at the Alen Building along Gil Puyat Avenue in Pasay City.
Maj. Jaybee Raul Cometa, CPRIG commander, said Customs police and CIDG agents conducted an entrapment operation after they received a complaint from Federico R. Santos who claimed he was lured by Lucentales to work at the BOC.
The complainant said Lucentales asked for P50,000 from him in exchange for the position of a district collector in the bureau.
“We have checked with the Human Resource Management Division and found out that Lucentales is not a legitimate employee of the bureau,” he said.
The suspects were charging each applicant from P50,000 to P100,000 in exchange for work for the BoC once a certain “Victorino” assumed office as the Commissioner of Customs.
Cometa said the suspects would be charged with violations of the Revised Penal Code Article 315 for estafa and Article 178 for usurpation of authority.
Cometa reminded the public to be always vigilant and cautious.
“Do not believe offers like these because if the bureau has a job opening, we disclose it to the public and there’s no money involved,” Cometa said.
“There’s a regular hiring process, so please be vigilant as these things do not happen anymore in the bureau,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the bureau described as “fake news” an article circulating online alleging that one of its employees was caught pulling items inside a balikbayan box from a warehouse in Pasay City.
The BoC said the article from the online site, Pinoyobserver.com, is a satirical blog and that, according to its home page, the stories they share are not real.
The alleged BoC employees named in the fictional article, Grace Honrade, and lawyer Rex Pabalete, are not from the roster of BoC personnel, whether contractual or permanent.
The BoC advised the public always to check the authenticity of website, sources, and facts of any news they read.
