SENATOR-ELECT Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said he would not intervene with the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte on the crackdown of Kapa Community Ministry International, Inc. despite the clamor of its members to let the religious group continue with its operation.
“Naluoy ko sa miyembro nga wala mabalik ang kwarta pero muingon ka nga pakialaman nako ang desisyon ni President, kung whatever ang desisyon niya, that’s purely executive decision. Hulaton lang nato kung unsa iyang sunod nga lakang (I pity those members who did not receive their payout. But I will not intervene with the President’s decision because that is purely executive decision. Let’s just wait for his next move),” Dela Rosa said.
While he does not intend to meddle with the issue, he said if the President wants his opinion, he would recommend that the leaders of Kapa return the money its members have invested even without its promise of 30 percent interest.
“Hard earned money na; ang uban gani gipangbaligya pa ang kabaw, gipangbaligya ang balay para lang maka-pay in so wala ka payout... Unta kung given the chance nga pangayoan ko og unsa ako ikasulti, pero dili ko mag una-una. Kung pwede unta, tagaan ug tsansa nga mabalik ang kwarta atong mga late nga nag pay in. Bahala’g wala mukita basta balik ang capital. (Those are hard-earned money. Some even sold their carabao or house just to have money for pay-in but were not able to receive their pay out... If given the chance that my opinion is sought, I would recommend that these people be given the chance to return the money of those who have paid in late, it doesn’t matter if there’s no interest, just as long as the capital is returned),” Dela Rosa said.
Kapa’s assets were frozen after the Court of Appeals issued a freeze order against Kapa Ministry.
Duterte mandated the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and National Bureau of Investigation to stop the operations of Kapa as it is deemed as a pyramiding scheme and “is a clear syndicated estafa.”
Duterte warned the public against joining this kind of investment scheme which is “good to be true” because it is a scam.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also issued a cease and desist order against Kapa that allegedly solicits investments from the public in exchange for a promised big returns.
Earlier, SEC already filed criminal complaints against Kapa Ministry founder pastor Joel Apolinario and other officials for penetrating an investment scam in violation of Republic Act No. 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code.