Several conmen dragging the names of President Rodrigo Duterte and former President Ferdinand Marcos have succeeded in enticing hundreds of Boholanos into paying up small amounts upfront with the promised payback of thousands of pesos in six months. 

Posing as representatives of organizations linked to Duterte under the Duterte Supporters Nationwide (DSN) and PERLAS with the fabled Marcos wealth as their golden bait has lured vulnerable barangay residents in the hinterlands of Talibon, Guindulman, Trinidad, Inabanga, Jagna, Ubay and have gained a foothold in Tagbilaran City.

DSN and PERLAS have been on the roll collecting hundreds of thousands of pesos in registration fees from Boholanos lured by the promise of a Php60,000 return of their Php250 initial contribution.

A barrage of calls flooded DYRD’s “Inyong Alagad” on Thursday following a desperate call for assistance from a female victim from Barangay San Francisco, Talibon.

Jean (not her real name) narrated her ordeal from a slick-talking gay instructor known in the barangay as “Rigor”, a majorette instructor of Ponciana E. Leoligao National High School.

According to Jean, she was among the more than 100 barangay residents who parted with their hard-earned Php450 after she fell for Rigor’s spinning a tale of a golden opportunity to receive Php60,000 for her livelihood project in six months.

MARCOS GOLD STASH

Rigor, who hails from Trinidad represented himself as coordinator of PERLAS also won the trust of barangay residents from Guindacpan, Talibon and its eight islands including Jetafe, according to Jean.

Rigor even made his sales pitch at the barangay hall of San Francisco and succeeded in luring the barangay secretary to participate in the livelihood project.

Participants are required to register with PERLAS for Php250 and submit their residence certificate, identification pictures, police and barangay clearances adding another Php200 for the documents, according to Jean.

DU30 NAME 

DROPPED

However, the DSN’s upfront fee amounting to Php3,000 but with a higher return with a number of residents falling for the group’s pledge of a shorter time lag of four months.

The DSN group flashed Malacañang IDs and name-dropped Duterte to add legitimacy to prove their trustworthiness and identified a certain “Aguilar” as head of the group.

San Francisco Village Head Sabino Garcia, when interviewed by ”Inyong Alagad” assured his constituents that he will report the activities of the DSN and PERLAS to the police and the Mayor despite the unhampered movement of these groups in the barangay.

PHP120,000 ASSISTANCE

Apparently, a certain Cerioco Malinao unwittingly admitted that he was monitoring “Inyong Alagad” answered the call from DYRD on his cellular phone and confirmed the existence of PERLAS and is the “participating leader” of the group in Central Visayas.

Malinao deftly parried questions from “Inyong Alagad” anchors Fred Araneta and Chito Visarra about the perceived scamming schemes of the group that has caused widespread anxiety over the status of their registration fees.

Malinao unabashedly claimed that the source of their funds will be sourced from the gold bullion of the Marcoses stashed in overseas banks and will be distributed to registered PERLAS members in six months at Php10,000 a month per member.

But Malinao was non-committal over information relayed by a concerned caller that PERLAS has been disowned by the Marcos family.

Two local banks – Metrobank and China Bank were named by Malinao as their depository banks in Bohol and even dared members to check the existence of its bank accounts.

Malinao also promised to refund the registration fees paid by those members who doubted the legitimacy of their organization but issued a veiled warning that those who will withdraw will forfeit the benefits of the gold bullion of the Marcoses.

PERLAS, in its Facebook account, PERLAS Foundation Inc. claims its registration no. CN201734299 with company Tax Identification Number (TIN) – 009-849-953 and is the acronym for Pag-ibig sa Panginoon, Education, Rehabilitation, Livelihood, Agriculture and Serbisyong pangkalusugan/sports and other services to the people.

At the rate Boholanos are being ripped off and defrauded of their earnings, they should be aware when their trust threshold has been breached. (Chito M. Visarra)