Court junks Kapa petition

File photo.
File photo.

THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 35 of General Santos City dismissed the petition for injunction of the Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc. against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), citing that it has no jurisdiction on the issue.

In a SEC statement issued on Wednesday, July 17, read that the General Santos City court junked the petition for injunction as it resolved the motion for issuance of a show-cause order subsequently filed by Kapa, against SEC for the revocation of the former’s corporate registration despite the then-pending court proceedings.

“Accordingly, the motion is hereby denied and this case is hereby ordered dismissed,” Presiding Judge Oscar P. Noel Jr., ruled in an order issued last June 17, after taking judicial notice on Kapa’s trading of securities.

It can be recalled that the religious firm, which is facing criminal complaints for soliciting investments from the public without the necessary license, filed the petition last April 4 after the Commission ordered Kapa on February 14 to cease and desist from selling and offering securities, in the form of investment contracts and in the guise of donations, from the public without the necessary license and further offering 30 percent monthly “blessing.”

“The regional trial court in General Santos City, initially issued a writ of a preliminary injunction against the SEC on April 10. The SEC, however, maintained that the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter,” the statement read.

Section 179 of Republic Act No. 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, provides: “No court below the Court of Appeals shall have jurisdiction to issue restraining order, preliminary injunction, or preliminary mandatory injunction in any case, dispute, or controversy that directly interferes with the exercise of powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Commission that falls exclusively within the jurisdiction.”

On April 3, SEC ordered Kapa's revocation of corporate registration after citing that they are involved in investment schemes which is in violation of Section 26 of the Securities Regulation Code, prohibiting fraudulent transactions, including Ponzi schemes where investors are lured with impossibly high returns and paid using the money contributed by other investors.

Likewise, SEC filed a criminal complaint against Kapa on June 18 along with its operators and promoters before the Department of Justice for violations of RA No. 8799 or the Security Regulation Code.

"The Justice Department is currently conducting preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by the Commission. In the meantime, the Regional Trial Court of Davao City on July 4 issued a precautionary hold departure order against the operators and promoters of Kapa,” the statement further read.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation along with three aggrieved investors filed complaints against Kapa before the DOJ on July 8 for syndicated estafa.

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