Con men in 'Marcos-wealth foundation' exit Guimaras
Hundreds of oil spill claimants in the island-province of Guimaras promised with a significant no-interest loan will now have to stop hoping and expecting.
Enticed to receive loans cum generous dole-outs of up to P100,000, the oil spill victims were initially offered the membership of a purported "private foundation" supposedly funded by the ill-gotten wealth of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
Yet with at least six hundred of the Guimaras locals estimated to have paid membership fees and corresponding loan processing fee, The News Today (TNT) gathered that the last of the representatives of this foundation was confirmed to have left the island.
As such, unacted applications and undelivered promises of the oil spill victims turned foundation members have now 'evaporated.'
All card-bearing members of North East Luzon Foundation Inc., the loan applicants were earlier warned with said foundation subject of a government advisory for conducting unauthorized activities elsewhere in the country.
The modus operandi then as disclosed to authorities, confirmed the massive barangay-based recruitment for new members exchange for foundation membership with corresponding application fee of only P200.
Membership fee was to be first step in securing a loan of P100,000 that was supposedly due to oil spill victims alone. It further promised of zero-interest and was practically a "dole-out" to the successful loan applicant.
Yet the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a continuing advisory cautioned the public against North East Luzon Foundation Inc., formerly known as the Cagayan Valley Farmers Association.
Albeit carrying SEC registration No. a199717282, North East, the SEC warned, is not authorized to grant loans.
"The public is therefore strongly advised to take necessary precaution before entering into loan transaction with the above said entity," the SEC advisory obtained by TNT went.
The number of the members in Guimaras feared to have fallen to the con game is believed to have doubled and continued to increase as massive membership campaign was launched in the five towns here.
In Buenavista alone, The News Today (TNT) got confirmation of the October "oathtaking" held in the town covered gym that saw the attendance of new recruits numbering to about 550 to 600 individuals.
With promised monthly financial assistance of at least P20,000 a month, no-interest loans and a service vehicle for the 'senior' and outstanding coordinators, North East Luzon Foundation Inc. has since generated an influx of willing members.
The Guimaras operation was made public following a Bombo Radyo report that disclosed of the growing number of applicants and the supposed forthcoming oil spill assistance amounting to millions.
A TNT source said tagalog-speaking recruiters began to make the rounds back in July still and came back with more promised aid when the oil spill incident hit Guimaras. Locals recruited were encouraged and "authorized" to bring in more members with particular attention given to oil spill hit barangays.
Frenzy was observed when word got out regarding the P100,000 help due to the oil spill.
The locals were told that the P200 will ensure their inclusion to the list of recipients. And the money will come from the government sequestered Marcos wealth.
It has to be done in 'hush-hush' too, the locals were then told, with the release passed off as a sort of calamity loan but in "reality," an all-out dole-out.
A woman organizer in Barangay Getulio, Buenavista, Guimaras was then said to be the most senior amongst the new recruits thus earning her the title "provincial coordinator." "Lesser" titles too for numerous barangay coordinators and municipal coordinators who all await of the foundation's promises.
Efforts were made by TNT to locate foundation officials for clarification however no contact persons nor numbers were located.
"Natunugan gid man nila sang nabulabog sa media nga daw delikado sila diri. Pero daku man to kuha nila kay tag P200 daan tagsa sa applicant ang nakuha nila. Wala man to pulos ID nila nga gin-isyu (They must have sensed something after the media exposed their activities. But then they also got a lot of money here from the P200 fee of the applicants. The IDs they issued are of no value)," a local TNT source shared.