Roel Amazona/Philippine News Agency
TACLOBAN CITY –– Authorities raided on Monday the offices of Kapa Community Ministry International and Organico Agribusiness Ventures Corp. in this city under a crackdown earlier ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte against get-rich-quick scams in the country.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Tacloban City Police Office, and the Special Weapons and Tactics raided the satellite offices of these firms for alleged violation of the Securities and Regulation Code through a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 20 1st Vice Executive Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali.
No one from Kapa was present during the search late Monday afternoon.
Authorities learned that the office in the city’s Marasbaras district has already been closed for three days as they transferred to a new location. The operating team only seized several documents during the search.
On Monday night, a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Tacloban City Police Office, and the Securities and Exchange Commission raided the Organico Tacloban branch office in Abucay district.
The office was already closed when operatives arrived. The firm also posted an announcement that the building is under renovation.
The raiding team searched the office but failed to get any document, which they could use as evidence against Organico’s business dealings. The team also forcibly opened a safety deposit fault, but it was empty.
A top official of the SEC, who declined to be named, said that they are not sure as to how many residents in Eastern Visayas are members of Kapa and Organico.
The official added that people are easily swayed by these get-rich-quick schemes due to poverty and greed for money. In the case of Kapa, the one with moral ascendancy easily attracts new investors.
“This is mostly perpetuated by people with moral ascendancy like pastors, who are very influential. If they plea for donations, people will abide and give them money,” the official said. “This is one of the frauds that we are closely looking after, this affinity fraud.”
The SEC said that aside from Kapa and Organico, eight other firms engaged in investment scams will be shut down by the government.
In an interview Sunday, Duterte ordered the NBI and other government agencies to shut down investment schemes since their nature of business is clearly a form of estafa.
