Three fake bookings at restaurants in Silay and Bago cities in Negros Occidental were made by a person pretending to be Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Thursday, December 1.
Charina Magallanes Tan, executive assistant to the governor, said luckily the owners of the three establishments checked with the governor’s office but one establishment was swindled of P4,000.
Tan said they are urging establishments to check on bookings made by phone to avoid falling victim to scammers.
A resort owner in Silay got a call from a man pretending to be the governor, Tan said.
He asked if she could make reservations at the resort’s restaurant for him and his group of 35 for a Department of Health and Philippine National Police meeting.
The caller said the DOH officials would like to have eight bottles of wine and the PNP group wanted eight bottles of whisky.
He then asked if the resort had an Internet connection and when she said no, he asked that she send him P4,000 worth of load for his phone, which she obliged.
The caller said he would be sending “Shiela” to pay for the load but when it was sent the caller could no longer be reached, prompting the resort owner to check if the governor had called.
A man pretending to be the governor also made bookings at two other restaurants in Silay and Bago for 30 people, but the owners verified with the Governor’s Office, Tan said.
Tan said the governor was in San Carlos City on official business on Thursday and had not made such calls.*