News
PhilHealth warns public anew of fake checks - October 27, 2006
IN a bid to avert the proliferation of fake cheques being re-discounted in commercial establishments nationwide, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) today called on the public to be more vigilant, especially where their PhilHealth claim cheques are concerned.
In a recent interview on Dear PhilHealth over Radio dzRH, Atty. Jay Villegas, PhilHealth Manager for Fact-Finding and Administrative Investigation Department (FFAID) said that counterfeiters usually exchange their fake PhilHealth cheques for grocery items through re-discounting. The cheques are negotiated in grocery stores, drug stores, hardwares and other small establishments, Villegas said, adding that these incidents commonly happen before holidays or during weekends when cheque clearing would only be possible on the next working day.
Villegas added that since the modus operandi was discovered in 2001, some 176 cases involving spurious cheques have already been reported, with an estimated total worth of P1.5 million. The number of cases has significantly gone down from Year 2001 up to the third quarter of 2003 through the collaborative efforts of PhilHealth, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police. However, in late-2003, another group of counterfeiters apparently revived the modus operandi, giving rise to 19 reported cases during the period, he said. We continue to strengthen our monitoring and investigation efforts to ensure that these numbers do not go up again.
He also revealed that another strategy being resorted to by these unscrupulous persons who bear fictitious names is to deposit these fake cheques to their accounts. But the stringent clearing mechanism of PhilHealth-accredited collecting banks like the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) where PhilHealth claim cheques can be encashed, effectively prevents these persons from withdrawing the amounts stipulated in the fake cheques. As such, there is no money lost as far as PhilHealth and the banks are concerned since the cheques did not translate into cash.
Still, Villegas emphasized, owners of commercial establishments, as well as bank personnel must exercise extreme caution when dealing with persons trying to pass off PhilHealth claim cheques during sales or deposit transactions. Certainly, we do not want more fake cheques to be flooding the local market, that is why we have installed the necessary measures to prevent these incidents from happening.
The public is advised to immediately report any and all incidents involving fake PhilHealth claim cheques to the FFAID at 637-9999 locals 1905 and 1919.