CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 7 has warned the public against relying solely on fixers or 3rd parties for their transactions involving public documents.
NBI-7 regional director Atty. Rennan Augustus T. Oliva shared during the 19th episode of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas program that in their investigation, common documents that are falsified include Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Tax Identification Number (TIN), BIR e-Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR), land titles, and court orders.
Oliva reminded the public to transact directly with the appropriate government agency instead of relying on fixers or 3rd parties.
“If you have in your possession a public document, you can always refer it to the issuing agency to verify its veracity. Do not rely on what the fixer or the third party is saying to you. It is always prudent to verify with the proper agency concerned,” he said.
He stressed that guidance or advice for any government-related transactions should come from the concerned government agency.
Oliva also reminded the transacting public to immediately report to the NBI if they encounter extortion activities in their transactions with government agencies.
“We will help you, we will assist you to eliminate this kind of activity committed by government employees,” Oliva assured.
He cited cases involving government personnel who are involved with extortion and falsification of public documents.
“A couple of months ago, we arrested (a staff) of the Register of Deeds of Mandaue City for extorting an applicant for the annotation of his land title. The said person was demanding money from him as high as P200,000,” Oliva shared.
“There is an operation that we conducted, [in] which we arrested an official of the Bureau of Fire that was extorting an applicant for the position of Safety Officer I. She was extorted by the official for P400,000 for the position that she was applying for,” he added.
NBI-7 also arrested a barangay chairperson from Barangay Tuyan in the City of Naga who was caught presenting a fake e-CAR from the BIR to the Register of Deeds.
Oliva assured that the complaints they receive are treated with utmost confidentiality before it is filed in the court.
Complainants and witnesses are also assured that their identity will not be revealed.
“The NBI is here to protect its citizens. You can come to the office anytime. We will address your problems under our jurisdiction,” Oliva said. (JJT/PIA7-Cebu)
