FIFTY investors of the Repa Paluwagan in Davao City filed complaints against its administrators who allegedly took their investments, with some having already invested more than P11 million.
Davao City Anti-Scam Unit (ASU) chief Simplicio Sagarino told SunStar Davao that their office had been receiving complaints against Repa since Friday, October 1.
The official said the investment scheme had different administrators.
Based on their interviews with the complainants, Repa Paluwagan is composed of three administrators.
“Lain-lain ni sila nga group. Naay mag-igsoon na 30 ilang complainants, kaning usa karong adlawa naa puy 20 ka buok (They are composed of various groups. Thirty individuals filed a complaint against two of the administrators, who happen to be siblings, last Friday, while another 20 filed their complaints on Monday against another administrator),” Sagarino said in a phone interview on Monday, October 11.
According to the complainants, Repa started its operation in the city five months ago. This had expanded to neighboring provinces such as Bukidnon, and even outside Mindanao such as Bohol and Cebu.
Paluwagan is an informal group saving or money-lending system in the Philippines.
Sagarino said it works based on trust and commitment among its participants who are typically friends, neighbors, co-workers, or classmates. A group consists of at least three members who pool their contributions into a common fund and take turns receiving the lump-sum payout weekly, twice a month, or monthly. A cycle goes on until the last member in the queue gets paid.
Paluwagan members decide and agree on these important details.
Compared to the investment scheme Kapa, which gained popularity in 2019, the interest set by Repa is higher as the interest would reach more than 50-percent in a short span of time.
“Sobra pa ni sa Kapa, 20 percent man ang Kapa sa usa ka buwan. Compared ani, in one week, seven days, dako na kaayo nang imuha. Sobra pa ni sa Kapa kay 20 percent in one month ning Kapa, kani 1K [P1,000], P2,500 na sa imo usa ka semana (Repa pays higher compared to Kapa. In Kapa, an investor will receive 20 percent interest on his or her payout after a month. But in the case of Repa, it is more than 20 percent. For instance, your P1,000 investment would grow to P2,500 in just one week),” Sagarino said.
While he understands the sentiment of the complainants, he said this must be a reminder to the public to be wary against investments.
"Mao na daghan naenganyo kay nakadawat man gud ang uban. Naka-receive sila sa ilahang bahin kay nindot man daw ang pagpangwarta ani. Pero karon, wala na sila nakadawat maong nagreklamo sila (Many were enticed to invest since many had received their payout. They believed that you could make money out of it. But now, they are no longer receiving their payout, which is why they are now filing complaints),” the official said.
He said one of the investors lost P10 million, which he invested in Repa. Another invested P11 million.
According to the complainants, the administrators are now hiding after receiving threats from its investors. Although two of the administrators went to their office, and said that they are licensed to operate.
But Sagarino said the administrators were not able to present a certification from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"Ang atong opisina kanunay nagpahinumdom nga kung musulod sila og investment scheme, kinahanglan nila siguruhon kung legitimate kini ug kung naa kini pagtugot sa SEC (Our office continuously reminds the public that before you would enter a certain investment scheme, you need to ensure that it is legitimate and has approval from SEC),” he said.
Sagarino said the paluwagan scheme is composed of many administrators, who are now also hiding from its investors.
Meanwhile, he encouraged complainants to file their complaints to ASU.
But he said they are only a referral office, of which they do not have a police power to file charges. But their office can support them in their case filing.
He added they cannot reveal their names yet as the investigation is ongoing.
In an interview with dxDC RMN Davao, a certain Saldy filed a complaint against Repa to ASU and the Davao City Police Office after no longer receiving his “payout.”
“Grabe ilang gibuhat sa amoa. Wala nami tarong tulog, kaon...P400K (gi-invest) naa mi mga kauban nga dagko kaayo ilaha, naay P7.7M, naay P6.5M, P2.6M (What they did is unacceptable. We could barely sleep or eat because I invested P400,000. While some of my fellow investors invested as high as P7.7 million, while some invested P6.5 million, and P2.6 million),” Saldy said.
He added that they initially believed that Repa is a legitimate institution considering they were able to receive their payout in the previous days.
SunStar Davao reached out to SEC-Davao to verify the legitimacy of Repa’s operation, but they have yet to respond.