NCMF director decries continued proliferation of fake CTMs

A copy of a fake Certificate of Tribal Membership (CTM ) – PHOTO courtesy Dir. Dimapuno Datu Ramos Jr./ NCMF

DAVAO CITY – A ranking official of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) said he continues to discover fake Certificates of Tribal Membership (CTM) amid the continuing war against forgery of documents, especially for overseas-bound Filipino Muslims.

CTMs were being issued by the NCMF for various purposes, including employment in government and the private sector, application for passport, and visa stamping.

The document serves as proof of identity.

Dimapuno Datu Ramos Jr., the director of the NCMF’s external relations bureau, said on Saturday that based on interviews he had with those who were caught in possession of fake CTMs, the spurious documents were being produced in Taguig and in Quiapo and sold for P250.

The NCMF issues the CTMs for free.

“Those CTMs, when I tried to scrutinize, I saw that the signatory was the previous OIC BER Cezar Maranda. I was surprised to see that it was dated April 15, 2018. I assumed the office on April 2,” Datu Ramos said.

The official said he had already coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Malacañang Action Center.

“Those who are involved in these illegal activities, your days are numbered,” Datu Ramos warned.

The proliferation of fake CTMs has become a serious problem for the NCMF.

When he was still NCMF commissioner, Mehol Sadain even found out that some of the agency’s employees also submitted fake CTMs to the Civil Service Commission.

Last year, 136 Muslim applicants also tried to use fake CTMs when they applied with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

READ: Fake certificates of tribal membership discovered

Under the law, lumad and Muslims who do not meet the required height only needed to present a CTM so they could qualify.

The same process involved those who wanted to be policemen or soldiers. /ee

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