Attention shifts from Iraq to investment scams

The coalition forces are not riding roughshod over the Iraqi Army. The grudging agreement by both US President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to a certain extent prompted local viewers to television screens to focus attention on more mundane domestic problems.

Thus, for the first time since the outbreak of the war, the headlines of local dallies shifted to the "investment scams". Especially since several more victims surfaced to complain about having been victimized by two more such firms – Prime Gold Management Corp. Inc., and the MMG International Holdings Co.

These are in addition to the original 76 who had filed charges against the Tibayan Group of Investments for having been victimized of millions of pesos invested in the firm.

Victims who trooped to the National Bureau of Investigation in Bacolod claimed to have been issued bouncing checks by officials of both firms.

The top officials of both firms, however, could not be found. Prime Gold’s president Corazon Bontigao and vice president George Bontigao, according to local manager Christine Claridad, could not be contacted since February 24. And she does not know their whereabouts.

MMG officials have yet to be identified. Four investors, who asked that their identities be not disclosed, claimed to have lost sizeable amounts when the postdated checks issued them bounced.

Prime Gold investors, on the other hand, claimed that the checks issued the firm had been returned stamped "account closed." Those were Metro Bank checks, they claimed.

The MMG reportedly has 206 Negros investors with total placements estimated at about P60 million.

Surprisingly, both firms have their offices located at the Mayfair Building. However, both have no longer been transacting business except to try and answer the quarries by their former clients.

The NBI is investigating these complaints. They also disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission had rejected the registration statement of MMG International for being incomplete, inaccurate in material respect and misleading.

Earlier, 76 investors filed complaints with the NBI for the loss of almost P40 million in capital investments with a promise of interest payment of 2.5 percent per month.

NBI Arturo Nunag said charges of large scale estafa will be filed against Tibayan’s top officials next week.

Tibayan reportedly has about 112 investors from the province with a total exposure of about P50 million or more.

The SEC has already denied the a motion by Tibayan to lift a cease and desist order issued against the investment firm.

The SEC made it clear that the CDO was permanent, It included the 12 firms affiliated with it.

Although some of the investors asked their names withheld, that only whetted the rumor mill which buzzed with speculations as to who they are. Many of the names are surprisingly those of moneyed Negrenses.

This time, Dumaguete

In Dumaguete City, the city legal officer started his probe into the "Bridging Fund" involving some members of the Dumaguete City Government Employees General Welfare Association.

City legal officer Neil Ray Lagahit said the investigation has been accelerated to dispel rumors that the committee has not been doing anything because it was siding with two accused DCGEGWA officials.

He, however, said the committee will handle only the administrative facet of the investigation. Civil and criminal liabilities will have to be filed by the parties involved.

Dr. Juliet Dy, one of the two complainants, claimed that she entrusted P270,000 of her money to DCGEGWA members Elmer Reyes and Elie Arenas last 2001 after being assured that the amount would be issued as loans to members. She was reportedly assured of a five percent monthly interest.

Another Dr. Silverio Ochotorara, said she had already invested a total of P450,000 to the two respondents. The first was the P100,000 cash benefit of her retirement which she had consistently added to the monthly interest she had been receiving.

Both submitted receipts reportedly signed by the two – Reyes and Arenas – as evidence of their capital investments with DCGEGWA.

Both, however, claimed that they had not received their interest payments since July, last year.

Ochotorara had already filed a case against both Reyes and Arenas following the collapse of negotiations for returning back her money even without interest.

Well, there’s one story. It’s good while it lasted. And that seems to be the tragic tale of many of those who had been victimized in investments scams. Most of the time, the schemes are too good to be true.

Brace for economic difficulties

While the US war on Iraq has yet to affect employment and prices of basic commodities in Negros Occidental and the rest of Western Visayas, a protracted conflict could lead to negative impact on the local economy.

This was the prediction by Labor Regional Director Carlos Boteros and Roberto Montelibano, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce.

So far, Boteros claimed overseas Filipino workers in Kuwait have yet to come back en masse. He also assured that the Kuwait government has pledged to help Filipinos there.

He added that the employment rate in the Western Visayas region remained at eight percent with 9.2 percent employed. Retrenchment this year, Boteros added, is much lower than last year.

This was the report submitted by Boteros during yesterday’s meeting of the Regional Development Council in Bago City with DTI Secretary Mar Roxas as one of the national government officials present.

Montelibano, on the other hand, pointed out that a protracted war in Iraq can wreak havoc with oil prices. He pointed out that the cost of fertilizer has almost doubled already.

It was good that recently Philphos, the fertilizer firm owned and operated by Jose Ch. Alvarez, unveiled here recently the three-in-one brand that is reportedly designed for sugarcane. Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo accented the importance of the move by personally attending the launching.

There was, however, the bright side to the present situation. Based on the 6.8 percent increase of production, Sec. Lorenzo exuded optimism that we have attained food security in so far as sugar is concerned.

And the other development. Sugar Regulatory Administrator James Ledesma said he prefers to wait for further developments regarding the request by the Confederation of Sugar Producers (Panay-Negros chapter) to cancel sugar importation even the Minimum Access Volume (MAV).