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Saturday, October 6, 2007

FAKE DIPLOMAS AND DOCUMENTS FOR SALE

Lim orders crackdown on Manila's diploma manufacturers
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 01:32am (Mla time) 08/04/2007

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered yesterday a crackdown on shops along Recto Avenue found manufacturing fake documents.

Lim also directed Rafaelito Garayblas, secretary to the mayor, to check on those who secured permits from City Hall to operate such establishments by using legitimate businesses.

I asked him to cancel immediately the permits of these establishments, he said.

"Yesterday, at least 10 people allegedly involved in the manufacture of fake diplomas and other public documents were arrested by operatives of the Manila Police District."

Lim ordered Senior Supt. Danilo Abarzosa, MPD acting director, to conduct a continuous monitoring of the area to ensure that those engaged in faking public documents did not return.

The fake diploma industry continues to thrive despite government efforts to eliminate it.

For a fee, people can get a fake marriage contract, class card, faculty identification card, transcript of records, registration form, employers' certificates and even bank statements and voters' IDs, among others.

Recently, the National Printing Office (NPO) and the Commission on Higher Education signed a memorandum of agreement for the printing of a highly securitized paper for college diplomas. The NPO, the agency that prints government forms, said the same security features applied in the printing of ballots, election returns and certificates of canvass would be incorporated in the manufacture of diplomas.

Lim encouraged people to identify policemen protecting the Recto entrepreneurs.

"We hope to erase the image of Manila as the country's 'fake diploma capital,' a reputation it has earned these past several years," he said.

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