By Edwin Fernandez/Philippine News Agency
COTABATO CITY — Police authorities in North Cotabato have intensified information dissemination against shadowy investment schemes that prey on innocent individuals, making them believe that such are legitimate investments.
Lt. Col. Bernard Tayong, speaking for North Cotabato police office, said the police at this time could only provide public advisory on the risks of joining investment schemes that sprouted like mushrooms in the province and in Region 12.
“We are at the state of educating our people, the public about the risk of these pyramiding schemes that entice people to invest or donate in exchange for the huge return of investments,” Tayong said in a radio interview here on Thursday. “Such is also too good to be true schemes,” he added.
Col. Maximo Layugan, the provincial police director of North Cotabato, has earlier warned subordinates not to engage in any Ponzi scheme that is apparently becoming popular in the province.
Layugan said police officers in the province proven to have participated in deceitful investment schemes could be charged with disobedience to a lawful order.
For his part, Brig. Gen. Eliseo Tam Rasco, police director for Region 12, said they are doing their best to stop these investment scams and bring the scammers to justice.
“Ironically, people are still lining up every day to ‘pay in’ and we are receiving more and more reports of people being scammed. The schemes may change but the underlying greed does not,” Rasco said in a statement.
“We can only do so much to protect you from being victimized by these investment scams,” he said, adding that the police information campaign against investment scams is underway in the region.
Region 12 or the Soccsksargen development hub includes the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, and Sarangani and the cities of Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal, Cotabato, and General Santos.
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