Woman nabbed for fake gov’t clearance

A woman was arrested in Quezon City on Friday for submitting a fake document in applying for a permit to operate a business in the city.

Mayor Joy Belmonte lauded the arrest of Myline Rivero, who was apprehended after it was discovered that she submitted a fake locational clearance when she applied for a business permit in July.

“We are happy that we are now able to make an example in our campaign to remove fixers and other illegal transactions at the city hall,” Belmonte said in Filipino.

“We will make sure that she will be made accountable for violating the law,” she added.

The mayor said the arrest boosts the city government’s campaign to weed out fixers, which is anchored on her good governance agenda.

Rivero was arrested on Friday during the post-evaluation of her application by members of the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD).

The forgery was discovered when no copy of the said locational clearance appeared on the records of the City Planning and Development Office.

According to the city government, the suspect is facing charges of falsification of public documents in violation of the Revised Penal Code.

Also charged were two alleged employees of the Valenzuela city government whom Rivero identified as the source of the documents she submitted to the BPLD.

She claimed to have paid P50,000 for the documents.

BPLD head Margarita Santos called on local residents to avoid dealing with fixers as they have already implemented reforms to hasten the processing of applying for permits and licenses.

“We call on the public to furnish us with genuine copies of required documents and not to resort to fraud in applying for permits and other licenses,” she said.