By Antonio Colina  DAVAO CITY – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-Davao had issued a cease and desist order against five investment firms and released advisories against 25 other companies soliciting investments similar to Ponzi schemes from January to November 2019. (sec.gov.ph / MANILA BULLETIN) According to a data released by SEC-Davao, these companies that were ordered closed by the commission included Almamico, which solicited money/investment from the public with up to 35 percent interest; Rigen Marketing, offering return of investment of (ROI) up to 400 percent; Ever Arm Marketing, offering ROI of up to 400 percent; Organico Agribusiness, offering a return of up to 66.67-percent return after 90 days; and Kapa Community Ministry International Inc., offering 30-percent monthly “blessing or love gift” per month on donation for life. All of them had no secondary license from SEC. The commission had also issued revocation orders against Organico Agribusiness and Kapa Community Ministry International Inc. last year. SEC’s record added it had issued advisories against companies for soliciting investments from the public without secondary license, which was necessary to allow them sell securities and investments. These were Coindeoro Holdings Inc./Coin de Oro, Max4unlimited Co./Max4 Unli Corporation, Wheretogo Travel Advertising Company/Wheretogo Advertising, JY Beauty and Fashion Marketing, Shantal, Munificence Ministry operating under Interdenominational Evangelical Church Ministries Inc., MGA Business Enterprises, Coophub Multimedia Services, Jogle Innovative Marketing, Grappler, Sherpan, BCT Marketing/BCT Motorcycle and Car Trading, RTM/RTM Pharmacy and General Merchandise, Diamond Marketing, Fusion Marketing, FMarket, Cirfund, VibEarn, OnePro, BCC/BCC Cosmetics Trading, VUCC, Bitrain, TCoin, Crowd Royals, and Nermie Marketing/Nermie Health and Beauty Products Trading. Roberto Marco N. Samson, the business development section head of First Metro Davao Investment Hub, said there was an increasing number of investors who go into stock market after the crackdown on the controversial “investment” schemes that promised extraordinary returns in 2019. He said market investors look for other legitimate means where to put their investments in. “I have met plenty of people that became interested in the stock market precisely due to scams. In a way, it is encouraging for us and drives us to really be better and clearer in how we present proper investments,” he said. Operating under the First Metro Investment Corp., First Metro Securities (FirstMetroSec) is the investment-banking arm of the Metrobank Group, which conducts regular workshops on stock market investing. He added people who get access to information on investment scam do not easily fall prey to ponzi schemes since the massive crackdown on “investment” firms spawned various groups advocating for financial literacy to raise the awareness of the public. Samson encouraged those groups to up the ante in helping the “people achieve financial freedom thru proper financial literacy” to prevent them from becoming a target of similar schemes as the people behind them “are really good at turning the tables on authorities looking to shut them down.” “For people with easy access to information, I believe the answer is yes. Since coverage on it was pretty extensive, and due to efforts by plenty of parties, it is easy to determine scams now,” he said. Samson said despite efforts to cast a wider net to educate the public on financial literacy, people who barely had access to information might still be susceptible to investments scam. The executive said he hopes the investors would get a “better appreciation of hard work and earning an honest day’s pay,” realizing that “there really is no such thing as free lunch.” “If something is too good to be true, it very likely is,” Samson said of the investment scams.