A CEBU Bankers Club (CBC) official has urged voters to be vigilant as they might receive counterfeit money.

“That’s always the issue every election time. There’s always fake money that will circulate just to get the votes,” CBC president Neil Credo said.

Credo believed there are syndicates who would circulate fake bills during elections for profit.

He said these groups would try to “manipulate the currencies just to get money and to make business out of counterfeit money.”

The public, he said, should always take a closer look at their bills in their transactions.

“We would like to advise everyone to be really vigilant as always. Being vigilant is always an everyday matter for us. Keep track of those fake money or counterfeit because it’s always the end-users who get victimized by it,” Credo said.

He said the banking community in Cebu are also on the lookout for possible circulation of the counterfeit money.

A person in possession of a fake bill should inform the bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or the police, according to Credo.

“We hope to coordinate with the authorities... If you have fake money or you receive or carry from a store or a bank, make sure to report it immediately so that we can trace who and where is the source,” he said.

According to the BSP, the Philippine peso bill has several security features, which include the quality of the paper, watermark, security fibers, embedded and windowed security thread, iridiscent band, portrait and serial number.

These features were put in place to prevent the circulation of counterfeit money in the market. (JOB)