DILG to mayors: Revoke Kapa permits

INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año ordered on Monday, June 17, all city and municipal mayors to revoke all business permits issued to religious group Kapa Community Ministry International Inc. and all its units, subsidiaries and allied organizations.

Año said business permits should no longer be issued to Kapa and all its units. All existing applications for permits should be denied.

“Marami na ang naloko at marami pa sa ating mga kababayan ang maloloko sa investment scam na ito kung hindi ito aaksyunan ng mga mayor. Siguruhin ninyong hindi na magpapatuloy ang operasyon ng Kapa,” he said.

(A lot of people have been duped. A lot more will be deceived by this investment scam if mayor fail to act on this. Let us make sure that Kapa will cease operations.)

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the closure of all Kapa offices for offering an investment scheme likened to a Ponzi scam, under which payouts to investors depend on money brought in by new investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Kapa’s certificate of registration in April and secured over P100 million of its assets in accordance with the asset freeze order issued by the Court of Appeals.

Following Duterte’s order, the National Bureau of Investigation raided at least 13 Kapa offices across the country. Año urged the public not to engage in any activities involving Kapa as well as in other “getrich-quick schemes.”

“Sabi nga po ni Presidente, kapag easy money, mas malamang na hindi totoo. Wala pa ring tatalo sa perang nanggaling sa sipag at tiyaga,” he said.

(As the President said, easy money is likely not for real. Nothing beats money earned from hard work.)

Kapa started operations six years ago in Bislig, Surigao del Sur and expanded operations to other parts of Mindanao before establishing offices in the Visayas and Luzon.

Under its investment scheme, members are enticed to make a “donation” of P10,000 to

P2 million, from which each member will receive a monthly payout equivalent to 30 percent of his or her donation. The payouts are for life.

As of June 8, 2019, Kapa founder Pastor Joel Apolinario claimed that Kapa already has almost five million members.

SEC Chairperson Emilio Aquino said this means that if each of the five million members put in at least P10,000, Kapa would have collected already at least P50 billion, making it the biggest investment scam in the Philippines.