Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Malacañan decried on Thursday (September 10) the distribution of bogus 500-peso bills to members of the media covering the legislature.
Palace Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said the incident was apparently the “handiwork” of political opponents who want to put administration party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II in a bad light.
Coloma added that it only showed how detractors preferred to engage in negative campaigning — which was “diametrically opposed” to the administration’s advocacy of Daang Matuwid (Straight Path).
Earlier in the day, reporters at the House of Representatives and the Senate received envelopes via snail mail. Each one contained three 500-peso bills bearing the face of Roxas — instead of the faces of the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
At the back of the bills, were the lines “Salapi pa more. Ibulsa ang pera, iboto ang kursonada.”
[Translation: “More money. Take the cash but vote for your choice.”]
The return address was HTA Inc., New Manila, Quezon City.
For his part, Roxas said that the matter should be investigated by the authorities.
“Dapat ipadala ito sa pulis, sa NBI, para makita kung sino ang nagka-counterfeit nito,” he said.
[Translation: “It should be sent to the police, the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), to find out who’s counterfeiting all this.”]
Roxas, who was in Cabarroguis, Quirino, for the celebration of the province’s founding anniversary, commented that he didn’t think such moves would affect his candidacy as it was obviously the scheme of political enemies at work which no one would buy into.
CNN Philippines’ Patricia de Leon contributed to this report.
