2 ‘Marcos foundations’ gyp 17 million Pinoys of P150 M

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the registrations of two foundations which recruited 17 million members nationwide and collected at least P150 million from them.

Citing "serious misrepresentation to the prejudice of the general public," the SEC revoked the registrations of East Pacific AAA Foundation Inc. and West Pacific AAA Foundation Inc., both headed by Alvin Alvincent Almirante, who reportedly claimed to be the real Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Both foundations are domestic non-stock corporations registered with the SEC in 1998 with the primary purpose of providing humanitarian, developmental, educational, scholarship benefits and free hospitalization to their members.

Acting on a letter-complaint dated May 8, 2000 by a certain Cesar Salazar, then head executive assistant of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, the SEC summoned Almirante and other officials of the foundations to explain their activities.

According to the complaint, both foundations were representing themselves to the public as administrators and recipients of gold and other properties of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, with Almirante himself being entrusted with a mind-boggling $300 trillion in "hidden wealth" allegedly deposited since 1969 at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York.

For a minimal fee of P30 each, those who signed up for membership were promised entitlement to billions of pesos worth of projects as well as a fixed share of P500,000 once the Marcos wealth was withdrawn.

The SEC said the scheme had recruited about 17 million members nationwide and collected, based on the foundations’ consolidated audited financial statements for the year 2000, at least P150 million from membership fees alone. Aside from the P30 membership dues, the foundations charged an additional P40 for identification card and fees for seminars, workshops, brochures, and related expenses.

Despite repeated summons and reports from the SEC’s regional offices of "suspicious transactions" conducted by the two foundations, Almirante has failed to appear before the corporate regulator to present the required documents, such as the certification of the Chase Manhattan account, forcing the SEC to revoke the foundations’ registrations.