Suspects Rodolfo Corral (left) and Ronnie Espiritu while being interviewed by NBI Special Agent Raul Tepace. (PHOTO BY GEMI FORMARAN) by...
 |
| Suspects Rodolfo Corral (left) and Ronnie Espiritu while being interviewed by NBI Special Agent Raul Tepace. (PHOTO BY GEMI FORMARAN) |
REAL, QUEZON--- National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)- Quezon agents and Banko Sentral ng Pilpinas (BSP) representatives raided a jewelry repair shop resulting to the arrest of its owner's brother and a You Tube blogger for mutilating P10 coins and using them in making ewelries at Brgy. Poblacion Uno, here, yesterday morning. NBI- Quezon head, Dominador Villanueva identified the suspects as Ronnie Espiritu, 45, brother of the shop owner, and Rodolfo Corral,33, YouTube blogger who resides at the shop. Villanueva said the suspects will be charged with violations of the Presidential Decree No. 247 which prohibits and penalizes defacement, mutilation, tearing, burning or destruction of Central Bank notes and coins. He said Espiritu’s younger brother, Randy Espiritu, 40, who owns the shop was not around during the raid as he works at the Municipal Government as employee of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. Villanueva said the raid was triggered by the complaint of Currency Issue and Integrity Office of BSP- Manila led by its team leader Nestor Arenas against the suspect after watching Corral in his You Tube Blog “Corral Dynasty”. Titled, “Naiibang kwento ng 10 peso coins”, Corral featured Randy Jewelry Shop that uses the 2001 version of P10 coins in making jewelries like rings and necklaces. Corral said a P10 coin is sold from P100 to P150 to buyers as many people believe that the 2001 version of P10 has a gold content. He said the buyers then bring the coins to the shop and have them transformed to jewelries before selling them. The labor costs P1,000 for every coin. It was learned that the P10 coin is the largest denomination coin of the Philippine peso. The 2000-2007 version is composed of Bi- metallic (Cupronickel ring with an aluminium- bronze center plug). (GEMI FORMARAN)
