By Junex Doronio
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The number 13 proved to be unlucky for a Chinese national and his six Filipino employees when they were apprehended at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on Thursday afternoon, January 13, for allegedly using a fake Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the Lapu-Lapu City government and could be slapped with P1-million fine.
Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, who immediately rushed to the scene, said that the city’s personnel assigned at the MCIA to check the travel documents of incoming plane passengers discovered the fake document that was presented by the suspects.
“Nakita sa atong mga workers nga ang maong Letter of Acceptance is fake. Makita ang format nga dili mao, dili pareha sa atoa (Our workers discovered that the Letter of Acceptance. They saw the format was different from.ours),” Chan said.
The apprehended Chinese national, identified as Yao Cuizon who knows how to speak Tagalog, claimed that he did not know their LOA was fake.
“Akala ko totoo yan, hindi ko alam yan,” Cuizon protested.
He said that they only paid a certain Raymond Tan, who is also a Chinese national, to process their document so that they can come to Cebu.
Cuizon added that he and his six Filipino workers traveled to Cebu from Manila ostensibly to install aluminum signages.
Upon investigation, Chan was able to squeeze information that Cuizon has spent P10,000 for the processing of the “fake” LOA.
The energetic mayor then advised those who want to travel to Lapu-Lapu City to transact directly with the city government, through its website or hotline.
For his part, Lawyer James Sayson, of the City Legal Office, said the suspects will face charges for falsification of a public document, which has a fine of P1 million and a minimum imprisonment of six months. (AI/MTVN)
