The Manila Cathedral warned the public on Tuesday of a fake letter soliciting financial aid using the name of priests of the Archdiocese of Manila.
A Facebook post by the Manila Cathedral read, “We were informed that a letter was sent to a hospital in Lipa City, Batangas, supposedly signed by us, Fr. Regie and Fr. Kali, asking for financial assistance for Covid19 (coronavirus disease) swab testing for us and our staff.”
Fr. Reginald “Regie” Malicdem is the cathedral rector while Fr. “Kali” Pietre Llamado is vice rector. Their signatures were counterfeited in the letter.
The bogus letter also mentioned apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo as being found positive with Covid-19 and that the two priests had “been in close contact with the good bishop.”
Using the letterhead “The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila,” the letter even mentioned that a swab test would cost about P8,000 and there were 15 persons, including five priests, who needed to undergo the test.
The scammers used mobile number 0966-5338843 to send messages, and the email address arzobispadodemanila@gmail.com. Jojo Mangahis