Politics is the only profession where you can lie, cheat, and steal, and still be respected.
—Will Rogers
John Vicente Cruz or JV Cruz, with the same name as the popular journalist-columnist of two generations ago, is a talented and charismatic guy. But he uses his natural gift to rip-off people.
If there is a professional super con man, it is John Vicente. Well, at least, that is the contention of the National Bureau of Investigation, particularly NBI Director Jaime Santiago and Ferdinand Lavin, chief of the NBI regional office in Region 1.
For the better part of 20 years, according to Lavin, JV Cruz has been duping various professionals who wanted to join the government, purportedly to serve the public. Other victims were government officials themselves who wanted to a fast road to promotions.
Cruz took on the image and identity of an assistant secretary in Malacanang’s Presidential Management Staff (PMS) and waylaid his victims by promising government positions and promotions. Cruz usually drops the name of the First Lady Mrs. Louise Araneta Marcos, saying she was instructed by the First Lady to cleanse the bureaucracy of remnants of the Duterte administration, remove them and replace them with officials loyal to President Bongbong Marcos.
He boasts being the First Lady’s “janitor” or sweeper to help her clean up the government.
Many intelligent, schooled and smart professionals were tested for their credulity by JV Cruz, and failed. That is the reason why Cruz survived and prospered for 20 years just using this impersonation ruse!
Lavin and Santiago said Cruz and his cohorts were dignified-looking, wearing barongs and jackets with the insignias of the Palace and the Presidential Security Group (PSG). When they negotiate with prospective victims, they look and behave very credibly.
Cruz’s alleged cohorts were Paulo Cruz, Kim Joseph Hernand, Jayson Marquina, Dante Rabano Jr., Darwin Dave Caigan and Noriel Reynoso.
Santiago said Cruz posed as an assistant secretary of the Presidential Management Staff in the Office of the President. His accomplices wore uniforms of the Presidential Security Group.
“He claimed he has specific instructions from the First Lady to clean up the bureaucracy. He presented himself as a ‘janitor’ in the government,” Santiago told reporters.
Cruz would offer the government positions to be vacated by Duterte’s appointees in exchange for P500,000 to P1 million, the NBI said.
According to Santiago, Cruz had demanded P500,000 from applicants for the position of Collector VI at the Bureau of Customs. In return, he would receive “payola” under the so-called “tara” system in the BOC.
Ferdinand Lavin said the operation against Cruz and his cohorts started in La Union.
Cruz and Marquina, who were wearing jackets bearing the insignia of the Office of the President, welcomed the NBI agents who posed as applicants.
After they accepted P100,000 in marked money, the NBI operatives placed the suspects under arrest.
Malacañang said Cruz is not an assistant secretary and not authorized to conduct any activity on behalf of the government.
NBI records showed that Cruz has 20 criminal and derogatory records in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Laguna.
“He has been doing this for more than 20 years,” Lavin said.
The suspects face complaints for estafa, usurpation of authority, using fictitious name and concealing true name, illegal use of uniforms or insignia, violating Commonwealth Act 142 and Executive Order 141, which prohibits forgery and unauthorized use of the seal of the president of the Philippines.
Impersonators and scammers like Cruz are many, and they will continue their modus operandi as long as they are not jailed, since the offenses they commit are bailable. A number of Cruz’s cases were even dismissed by the court.
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Showbiz people and many fans are still debating, having an incendiary argument, on whether the pestiferous comment that could have been vocalized with the raising of one eyebrow was really made by actor Dennis Trillo. The comment purportedly asking if ABS-CBN still exists came from a TikTok image that showed Dennis speaking. But the actor’s manager, Tita Becky Aguila, vehemently denied this, saying Trillo’s TikTok account had been hacked.
Let us put some context to this episode. You see, actress Jennylyn Mercado, the wife, was not able to attend GMA 7’s shooting of its station ID because of a prior commitment. Since the station ID of any network is of utmost importance, some wags spread the news that Jennylyn will soon be leaving the Kapuso network and joining the Kapamilya ABS-CBN. To this, the actor-husband allegedly said, “May ABS-CBN pa ba?”
It was an uncalled-for mockery of the radio-television network for which he also worked in the past. The insulting comment also revealed Dennis’ abrasive character, if true. And so here comes the manager clarifying everything. Saying that the TikTok account of the actor had been hacked. The actor had to contend with incessant bashing from netizens and fans because of this.
But what if this is not true? What if this is just a convenient alibi to save the do-gooder image of the actor?
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