Five arrested for making rings out of P10 coins, sold for P1,500 each 

Five individuals were arrested for making rings out of P10 coins, which they sell for P1,500 each to tourists on a beach in Siquijor. 

According to John Consulta’s report on "24 Oras" on Wednesday, the arrest came after a TikTok post of a foreign tourist reached the authorities of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which showed how the coins were being made into an accessory. 

Authorities conducted an undercover operation where they posed as buyers to the suspects. 

Recovered during the operation were the marked money and the suspect's tools. 

The BSP said the scheme of the suspects is illegal and can affect coin circulation. 

“In a day, they can produce 30 to 40 rings made of coins,” said Mark Fajardo of BSP’s Payments and Currency Investigation Group, noting that it violated Presidential Decree No. 247. 

The said law penalized anyone guilty of “defacing, mutilating, tearing, or partially burning or destroying our currency by any means renders it unfit for circulation, thereby unduly shortening its lifetime.”

GMA Integrated News reached out to the suspects who are now detained at the San Juan Municipal Police Station in Siquijor. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News