Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Fake money bills hurting traders
PROBLEMS in detecting counterfeit money have hounded street vendors in the Sinulog Trade Fair on Osmeña Blvd.
Joseph Larrazabal, who owns two of the 60 stalls lined up in the area, said he has been a victim of counterfeit P500 and P1,000 bills from either unscrupulous people or buyers who themselves are not aware that their peso bills are fake.
“Problema talaga namin yan kapag may mga malalaking fiesta. Hindi na namin ma-monitor yung mga tao na may dalang pekeng pera,” he said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu (This is our problem in big celebrations like these. We can not monitor those who use fake money).
He added that revenues of many street vendors in the area have been greatly affected by the proliferation of fake bills, which brought them losses over P2,000 daily.
Larrazabal, who has been participating in the street fair in the last ten years by selling various merchandise, said the problem on fake peso bills is more rampant in Cebu than in any other provinces because of exchanges during the Sinulog Festival, which has become a national and international crowd-drawer.
Peak
Apart from the Sinulog, he has been selling merchandise in every major festival in the country, like the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, Maskara in Bacolod and Flower Festival in Baguio, among others.
Abdul Sultan, who owns Stall 16 selling batik (tie-dye) clothes, like malong, sarongs and house dresses, echoed Larrazabal’s sentiments saying he, too, has been a victim of counterfeit bills, especially during the peak of the Sinulog festivities where the stall is jammed with hundreds of locals and tourists daily.
“Even if we are careful, we still receive some fake money,” he said in Cebuano.
Both Larrazabal and Sultan agreed that even if vendors invest on devices with ultraviolet (UV) light to detect fake bills, the government must strongly address this problem by aggressively going after the “source” of counterfeit currency.
“Ano naman ang magagawa nyan (UV light detector) kung patuloy pa rin yung iba na nagpi-print ng mga pekeng pera,” said Larrazabal (What can the detector do if the printing of fake bills continues?).
“Kami pa nga yung nahihirapan kumita ng pera, kami pa rin ang nadadaya,” he added (We work hard to earn but we incur losses due to fake bills).
Complaints
A cashier from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)-Cebu, who requested anonymity, confirmed the bank has been receiving more than 20 pieces of fake peso bills in P50, P100, P500 and P1,000 denominations daily.
The source added that BSP has accommodated complaints from banks, business establishments, and even individuals who have become victims of bogus money.
The BSP employee also admitted that compared to other neighboring provinces, the problem on fake peso bills is more rampant in Cebu.
“The problem has been there for a long time and BSP has been trying to heighten the awareness and aggressively going after those fake money-makers,” the source said.
The source also added that it is important for Filipinos to detect a fake peso bill from that of the authentic one.
A genuine peso bill is printed with a specialized paper which is rough when one runs his or her fingers through it.
It does not glow under UV light.
Detecting
The impression of the different printed features of a peso bill are reportedly well-defined, sharp and distinct.
A P500 denomination has a Concealed Value located in the lower left corner of the face of it and it is recognizable when the note is held at eye level.
A special characteristic of the P1,000 denomination is the Optically Variable Ink that changes color from green to blue or blue to green when the note is held at different angles.
“These features are easily recognizable by sight and touch alone. Instruments are not necessary that’s why we need to familiarize ourselves,” the cashier said.
In case one gets hold of a suspicious note or coin, he or she is advised to go to the nearest BSP regional office.
Only the BSP is authorized to produce and issue Philippine peso bills in keeping with its mandate of safeguarding the integrity of the Philippine currency. (MMM)
