Palace to protect Aman workers from angry victims

CEBU, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday assured the personnel of Aman Futures Group Philippines Inc. of protection from “rampaging” victims to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.

Irate victims of a pyramiding scam ransacked the office of Aman Futures in Kawit, Pagadian City and carted away anything they could lay their hands on, including furniture and office equipment, after the company was shut down last Sept. 26.

One of the firm’s brokers, Anwar Zainal, was also reported to have been abducted in Pagadian City and his body found in the nearby town of Tambulig in Zamboanga del Sur province.

“First, the law enforcement authorities are aware of that (situation) which is why (Interior) Secretary (Manuel) Roxas did... order the relief of police officials to avoid any untoward incidents,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“And we reiterate our appeal to the investors not to take the law into their own hands. The authorities are moving quickly on this. They are doing everything they can to give justice to the investors who were duped, according also, of course, to the instruction of the President,” Valte added.

Valte said security measures had been in place and authorities were ensuring the safety of Aman officials who decided to surface “because they are in fear of their lives.”

“So we are giving them the appropriate security if they need it,” Valte said.

She said law enforcement agencies were told to proceed as quickly as possible as far as the investigation was concerned and arrest the suspects.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), on the other hand, said it will not consolidate the cases involving the pyramiding scams by the groups of Manuel Amalilio of Aman Futures and Jachob “Coco” Rasuman despite reported links between them.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said the two cases are undergoing separate preliminary investigation by the same special panel of prosecutors created last week.

Amalilio and Rasuman used the Ponzi scheme in duping thousands of people. Rasuman was a top agent of Amalilio’s Aman Futures Group, which allegedly took millions from some 15,000 people in Visayas and Mindanao.

“We won’t consolidate them. We will treat them separately,” Arellano said.

This move of the DOJ is expected to further expedite resolution of the complaints against Amalilio and Rasuman and the filing of cases in court.

Evaluations

Arellano, chief of DOJ’s national prosecution service, vowed to try their best to meet President Aquino’s one-week deadline for the filing of cases in court to secure arrest warrant against Amalilio, who reportedly fled to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Arellano revealed the panel already received last Friday afternoon records of five complaints against Rasuman from Cagayan de Oro City prosecutors’ office and the initial sets of complaints against Amalilio.

Cagayan de Oro City Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag personally delivered the records of the Rasuman case to Arellano’s office.

Macauyag said their investigation took a little longer to be completed because of the voluminous records and documents involved.

It was alleged that Rasuman’s firms, NAD 21 Auto Option and BRD Group of Companies, duped their victims - mostly businessmen - through the same Ponzi scheme allegedly used by Aman.

Macauyag found both firms were not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), adding that NADS 21 was registered with the Department of Trade and Industry but under single proprietorship only.

Rasuman, son of a former public works official who was reportedly taken into custody by authorities last week, had already denied the charges in a counter-affidavit filed through his lawyers. – Philippine Star News Service/JPM (FREEMAN)