CEBU CITY – The regional director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Central Visayas on Tuesday warned members of the Philippine National Police in the region, who are caught investing in a pyramiding scheme of a Mindanao-based organization that is now active in the region, that they will be relieved and disarmed.
Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, PRO-7 regional director, issued the warning after he received reports that more than 10,000 people have been recruited “to invest” in the KAPA Community Ministry International Inc. since it started operating in Cebu three weeks ago.
The organization has been actively recruiting teachers, police officers, personnel from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Sinas was quoted in a radio report as saying.
“We are coordinating with the BFP and BJMP,” Sinas said, as the police chief in the region received reports that personnel from these two bureaus are the first to be targeted by the organization.
Meanwhile, Sinas said police officers from the Compostela Police Station arrested two security guards of the firm’s office in Sitio Hika, Poblacion village of the northern town of Compostela, for carrying an unregistered shotgun and 9 mm pistol.
The police will file charges against Dexter Cuyos and Robert Padayogdog for violating Republic Act 10591 or Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013 and the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) gun ban.
Compostela, Cebu Mayor Joel Quiño on Tuesday said in a radio interview that he is pressing charges against individuals who are behind the operation of Kapa in his town for lack of permit from his office.
Earlier, Quiño issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against the firm for operating without mayor’s clearance and business permit. However, Capt. Ian Macatangay, chief of the Compostela Police Station, said the organization’s officers tore down the closure notice and continued its operation.
“Ang una nato giawhag nga mi-establish og business or trade kinahang mopahigayon og mayor’s permit (We asked those who want to establish business or trade in the town to secure mayor’s permit),” Quiño said, adding that any activity that entails people’s involvement, the mayor must be informed about it.
The municipal government would also want to know if their operations would generate garbage, he said.
Sinas said he received a report that the proceeds from their operations here will be used to pay the members of the organization in Mindanao, who have invested heavily. (PNA)
