THE Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), thru the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), has created a “hotline” to receive text messages and calls on persons and groups namedropping top Palace officials to scam people thru bogus appointments and government contracts.
Palace undersecretary and PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz, said thru the hotline (0960-457-8888) the public can: (1) report people unlawfully using the names of the First Family, the Executive Secretary and other high-ranking government officials; and (2) verify whether a certain individual is indeed an incumbent government official or not.
The creation of the hotline was prompted by an incident last January 28, 2023, when 8 people trooped to the Palace to be purportedly sworn into their respective high-ranking government positions by no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The statement from the OES noted that several others also arrived on the same date, ready to make presentations on how to execute infrastructure projects to be awarded to them.
“Apparently, many unscrupulous and criminally minded people have been misrepresenting themselves to have the power and influence to peddle appointments and contracts in government. “They claim to be close to the First Family, the Executive Secretary and other high-level officials; others pretend to be high-ranking officials themselves occupying positions in government,” the statement added.
But to everyone’s embarrassment, it was only then the victims learned that they were duped by a certain Edward Diokno Eje, also known as ‘Vaughn Vincent,’ who misrepresented himself as an “undersecretary” at the OES.
An investigation immediately conducted by the PAOCC on instruction from the OES disclosed that Eje pocketed millions of pesos from his victims.
A special operation conducted by the PAOCC together with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (CIDG-PNP) subsequently resulted to the arrest of Eje (see also Pinoy Exposé, February 14, 2023), who is also known as ‘Don Edong’ in the local racehorse industry. He remains under custody.
The public is also given notice and warning that government projects are not arranged but must pass through the procurement process, said the OES.