2 women caught with fake P1,000 bills in public market

Two women were arrested in Navotas City on Tuesday after they used fake money to buy fish and rice in a public market.

Senior Supt. Brent Madjaco, acting Navotas police chief, identified the suspects as Erlinda Lumida, 60, of Caloocan City; and Sharon Ancheta, 45, of Malabon City, who had previously been detained at Navotas City Jail also on charges of forging bank notes.

The pair was arrested in the San Roque public market around 9:30 a.m. after they tried to pay for one piece of bangus worth P95 with a fake P1,000 bill, Madjaco said.

The vendor, Evangelyn Orog, immediately knew that the bill was counterfeit and called the police.

The suspects were later discovered to have bought fish, rice and milk from four other vendors using fake money.

Recovered from them were nearly 200 counterfeit bills of different denominations, including at least 32 P1,000 bills and 94 P100 bills with a total face value of P58,000.

The two refused to say where they got the bills although Ancheta admitted these came from a “Muslim friend” at the Balintawak market in Quezon City, Madjaco said. —Krixia Subingsubing