ANOTHER political figure has been victimized by the alleged Automated Teller Machine (ATM) skimming fraud. This time, it’s Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
In his news conference yesterday, the mayor confirmed that three unauthorized withdrawals amounting to around P90,000 were made from his Landbank of the Philippines payroll account last October.
“I didn’t want to disclose this because I want to get all the facts straight first. But since you asked, yes, there was an illegal withdrawal in my ATM,” he said.
Osmeña explained that he kept mum about the issue as it could either be an ATM skimming or a systems breach.
“I don’t like to give any specifics because we’re still trying to get to the bottom of it. I just kept quiet because I don’t know the circumstances. It could be an inside job,” he said.
Lost card
The mayor lamented that aside from not depositing money in his personal account himself, he doesn’t even know where he’d put his ATM card for his payroll account.
It wasn’t until a visit to Landbank last week to get a new ATM card that he learned of the unauthorized transactions.
Upon discovery, his wife, Councilor Margarita Osmeña, had the mayor’s PIN immediately changed to prevent further illegal transactions.
The councilor then withdrew the account’s remaining balance of not more than P100, which Osmeña jokingly called an “authorized withdrawal” this time.
“Na-wipe out na gyud (It was wiped out). I didn’t even check because I don’t even know where my card is. All of a sudden, I said, ‘Where’s my card?’ So we got a new card only to find out that there were withdrawals. From now on, I’m directly withdrawing my salary,” he said.
Osmeña has already reported the matter to the authorities and the Cebu Bankers Club (CBC).
Landbank is already getting the video from its closed circuit television cameras to fast-track the apprehension of the alleged culprits.
The mayor advised card holders to be careful when using ATMs, even inside banks.
Victims
Last month, 19 persons have claimed having been victimized by ATM skimming frauds, including Councilor David Tumulak.
The councilor discovered only last Nov. 9 that several unauthorized transactions were also made from his Landbank payroll account since September.
Although he refused to disclose the total amount stolen, the latest unauthorized withdrawal was P50,000 on Nov. 9.
Tumulak said he has been saving his monthly salary as he plans to retire from politics in 2019.
The councilor has requested CBC to present confiscated ATM skimming devices or be accountable for economic sabotage.