The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the rulings that sentenced a man to prison
for illegal possession and use of fake banknotes.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, the SC’s
Second Division denied the petition by Allan Gacasan that challenged the
rulings of the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In a buy-bust operation conducted in Bukidnon on November 10, 2018, the
Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation Detection Group
(PNP-CIDG) arrested Gacasan after selling fake banknotes to a
confidential CIDG agent.
Gacasan was caught in possession of 100 pieces of fake 1000-Piso bills
and 25 pieces of fake 500-Piso bills. Said bills were confirmed to be
counterfeit upon examination by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The RTC convicted Gacasan for the crime of illegal possession and use of
false banknotes under Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
The CA affirmed the conviction, but Gacasan subsequently appealed the
decision before the SC.
The BSP has the exclusive power and authority to issue coins and
banknotes for circulation in the Philippines.
To protect and promote the integrity of Philippine currency, the BSP
conducts joint anti-counterfeiting operations with law enforcement
agencies, such as the CIDG, the primary investigation arm of the PNP.
Since 2010, the BSP has conducted 129 anti-counterfeiting operations
that led to the arrest of 212 suspects and the confiscation of more than
46,100 pieces of counterfeit Philippine banknotes with a notional value
of PHP35,427,000.00.
The BSP has filed 194 cases related to counterfeiting, 78 of which have
been concluded, with 76 cases or 97.4 percent resulting in the
conviction of the accused.
The BSP requests the public to report any information on currency
counterfeiting to the nearest police station or to the BSP Payments and
Currency Investigation Group through e-mail ([email protected])or
telephone ([02] 8988-4833 or [02] 8926-5092).