PRRD orders shut down of Kapa, others

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech at the Proclamation and Kick-off Rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-LABAN) held in the City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan on February 14, 2019. KARL NORMAN ALONZO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other government agencies to shut down investment schemes that are proliferating, mainly in Southern Mindanao, for conning people of their hard-earned money.

Interviewed by his friend Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, Duterte said the activities of these investment schemes, including the Kapa Community Ministry International, are clearly a form of estafa. The cropped video, which was streamed live on YouTube Saturday, is shown here: https://ytcropper.

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Several investment schemes have sprouted in Southern Mindanao and have reportedly been branching out to as far as Luzon in recent days. These include Kapa, headed by Joel Apolinario, which promises a 30 percent “love gift” each month. Some schemes, such as the Tagum City-based Rigen Marketing, Jogle and Ever Arm, even promise a return of up to 500 percent.

In the interview, Duterte said the NBI should immediately put a stop to these schemes.

“To the CIDG, the police, the special investigating teams, including NBI — that is pyramiding. That is why you shut them down and haul them (to courts) upon my orders,” he said. The CIDG is the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The President said he has been telling people that “when it is too good to be true, it is fraud.”

“Imagine, your PHP100,000 earns PHP30,000 a month? Even our Bangko Sentral can only give 3 percent, and that’s annually. I have been telling the Filipino people that if what is being promised to you is something like heaven (it’s fraud),” he added.

Duterte said the reality is that “no bank, even the Bank of America, can afford to pay you PHP30,000 a month for your PHP100,000.”

He said the reality is that the money being used to “pay out” the old investors is what new investors have put in as “pay ins.”

“Just like Legacy ang anything. At the end of the day, you will get nothing,” he said.

Duterte said he is bound to force the stand of the government because these investment schemes “are into syndicated estafa.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission had repeatedly issued cease and desist orders (CDO) against Kapa and other investment schemes but they continue to defy the orders.

Apolinario’s group challenged the CDO in a General Santos City court but it has been denied.

In March, the SEC made its CDO against Kapa permanent.

Last month, prior to the mid-term elections, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the police and local government officials to shut down Kapa and other investment schemes but even mayors and governors were reluctant.

A politician hinted that going against these investment schemes could mean defeat.

Indeed, reports had it that several politicians wooed votes by telling people they would not shut down Kapa and others when they win.