Everflow insists CDO is not against them

The Everflow group of companies insisted yesterday that it is not the direct object of a cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last January, pointing out that it has long broken its ties with the principal recipient of the CDO, Multinational Telecom Investors Corp. (Multitel).

Everflow director Felix Aquino said the SEC should be more circumspect in issuing press statements directed against the company in the interest of fair play and due process.

"What we have is a copy of an SEC order that stops Multitel from selling securities. Simply put, Multitel was the respondent in that Jan. 15 CDO and not Everflow," he said.

Aquino was reacting to the statement last week by SEC Director for Compliance and Enforcement Tomas Syquia that dragged Everflow in the Multitel CDO, noting that it acted as Multitel’s financial advisor during the time the said firm was illegally soliciting investments offering high returns, although it was not licensed to do so.

But Aquino clarified that Everflow, whose main line of business is real estate and agribusiness, immediately severed its ties with Multitel as soon as the SEC issued a show-cause order to let Multitel explain its business transactions. After the firm failed to comply, the SEC then issued a permanent CDO against Multitel.

He added that Multitel even came out with a paid newspaper advertisement last July informing the public that Everflow was "no longer connected with Multitel."

"Some people are using the SEC to mislead the public," Aquino stressed. "It would be best if these people just allow the SEC to do its work rather than wait for the results of the investigation."

Syquia said Everflow was also covered by the CDO since it served as a conduit in the operations of Multitel, along with a number of other companies such as Partners in Progress Holdings Inc., Sage Management Corp., CUP Multi-Purpose Cooperative Inc., Oceanic Employees, Bethel Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Goodwill Development Cooperative and Handog sa Pag-unlad Multi-Purpose Cooperative. – Conrado Diaz Jr.