Cops relieved over investment scam

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Over a dozen cops were relieved from their duty as the regional police ordered an investigation allegedly linking them to an investment scam that reportedly duped as much as P2 billion from their unsuspecting victims.

Regional police spokesman, Lt. Col. Aldrin Gonzales said 14 cops were allegedly involved in the so-called Pulis Paluwagan Movement (PPM) which is similar to Ponzi scheme.

He said Brig. Gen. Eliseo Rasco, the regional police commander, ordered the relief of the policemen and transferred them to the headquarters to allow impartial investigation. “They were transferred to the RPHAU while the investigation is being conducted,” he said, referring to the Regional Police Holding and Accounting Unit.

National Police Chief, General Oscar Albayalde, also ordered the relief of Col. Manuel Lukban Jr., chief of the regional policed directorial staff; and city police director, Col. Raul Supiter in line with the investigation into the scam transferred the duo to Camp Crame’s RPHAU.

“This is a standard operating procedure to prevent them from influencing the investigation in any way and make it transparent,” Gonzales said, assuring the public that it will file charges against those involved in the scam if they are proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. And the National Bureau of Investigation also launched a separate probe after civilians filed complaints in the agency.

The PPM began operating in 2018 and eventually collapsed in January 2019 with many of its victims were policemen who invested heavily on the scheme.

In 2012, a similar scam by Aman Futures in Zamboanga del Sur’s Pagadian City duped thousands of people in the southern Philippines by promising them 50% interests of all their investments estimated at P12 billion.

Its mastermind, Malaysian national Manuel Amalilio, founder of Aman Futures, escaped the country and returned home after the collapse of his company. Amalilio was arrested in Sabah for using fake travel documents and Malaysia refused to hand him over to the Philippines to face criminal charges. (With a report from the Mindanao Examiner)

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