Solicitation scam for beauty pageant bared

Muntinlupa Rep. Jaime Fresnedi and Mayor Ruffy Biazon have warned of a solicitation scam using a fake endorsement letter for a beauty pageant.

Fresnedi, in a Facebook post, said a fake endorsement letter indicating that it came from his office was being used to solicit from business establishments for the "Miss Amazing Philippines" beauty pageant in exchange for a five percent discount when they renew their business permits.

The fake endorsement letter certified that a certain Rovic Macariola from Barangay Putatan appeared on 15 September in Fresnedi's office "with the purpose of seeking permission for the introduction and fulfillment of the candidate requirements for the competition of 'Miss Amazing Philippines 2023' pageant."

In a statement, Fresnedi said "The public is hereby warned that Rovic P. Macariola did not appear on the 15th day of September 2023 and sought permission from this Office relative to the requirements for the competition of 'Miss Amazing Philippines' 2023 pageant."

The solon added, "Further, Atty. Miguelito Rueda-Gozos who allegedly approved the Certificate of Appearance as a lawyer holding position as a mere Administrative Aide II is not connected with the Office of the House of Representatives of the Lone District of Muntinlupa."

The letterhead used in the fake endorsement letter "pertains to the City Government of Muntinlupa and not to the Lone District and the signature of the undersigned in the Certificate of Appearance was forged."

Fresnedi said, "the public is hereby advised that the Office of Representative Jaime R. Fresnedi did not issue the Certificate of Appearance and that they should not transact with Rovic P. Macariola who made the foregoing false representations in order to solicit donations for the alleged beauty pageant."

Mayor Biazon said the matter is a scam and the city government does not ask money or donation in exchange for a discount.

The people of Muntinlupa were strongly urged by Fresnedi to send information and reports of Macariola's activities to the police for the filing of a complaint against him.