MANILA, Philippines — A man who passed himself off as an officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and fraudulently offered assistance in exchange for cash was arrested in Cagayan de Oro.
In a statement on Wednesday, the DSWD identified the suspect as John Carl Mendoza, who uses the alias Jay Lagrimas.
He claims to be a DSWD Field Office National Capital Region officer to lure victims into his modus.
In exchange, he reportedly collected money from unsuspecting individuals for their registration in the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), among other social welfare services, for a P350 to P500 fee.
Following his arrest, Mendoza, who is from Trece Martires City in Cavite, was presented to DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo.
The DSWD said Mendoza had been doing this racket for four years, collecting an estimated P1.2 million from his victims.
Police reports said that Mendoza is a member of a syndicate that operates in the department.
The DSWD reminds the public to stay away from scams and remain updated on the department’s official social media accounts and websites.
Any information on violations can be reported to the DSWD through messaging the official DSWD Facebook Page or by calling the hotline numbers: 0943-464-8026, 0943-464-8086, and 0932-933-3251 for Smart users and 0995-715-3926 0995-715-3934 for Globe users. — Andy Hoo, INQUIRER.net intern
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