https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

---

SEC revokes Wellcons registration due to illegal solicitation of investments Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:26 PM PDT THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an order of revocation against Wellcons Unlimited Systems Inc. for employing a "double-your-money" scheme to illegally solicit investments from the public, resembling a Ponzi scam.According to the SEC, their Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) found that Wellcons has been publicly offering and selling securities without the necessary secondary license from the Commission."In doing so, Wellcons committed an ultra vires act under Section 44 of Republic Act (RA) No. 11232, otherwise known as the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines," the Commission stated.It added that Wellcons' activities constituted serious misrepresentation as to what it can do, to the great prejudice of or damage to the general public.It can be recalled that on February 2, 2022, the Commission, through an advisory, warned the public against investing in Wellcons.On June 23, a cease and desist order was issued against the company.Wellcons has been offering investment packages worth P2,500 to P13,890 under a so-called Binary System, with guaranteed returns of up to P9,000 to P32,000 per day.Members who avail investment packages under the Binary System can further earn through Wellcon's Pangkabuhayan Program, where they can supposedly double their money within six months based on investment packages worth P1,500 to P5,000.Wellcons also promised leadership bonuses and referral fees, among others.According to the EIPD, Wellcons' investment scheme involves securities, particularly an investment contract. This is when a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits primarily from the efforts of others.As a form of security, investment contracts must be registered with the SEC before they can be sold or offered within the Philippines, pursuant to Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).The Commission said that while Wellcons is a duly registered corporation with the SEC, it has never secured a secondary license from the commission to operate as a broker/dealer of securities, nor is it a registered issuer of any securities."Considering that nowhere is it stated in the primary purpose clause of Wellcons in its Articles of Incorporation that it is authorized to engage in the selling or offering for sale of securities to the public, coupled with the fact that it does not have the necessary Permit to Offer and Sell Securities, the activities of Wellcons of selling or offering for sale securities in the form investment contracts is considered an ultra vires act and therefore constitute serious misrepresentation," the order read.The EIPD further noted that Wellcons' double-your-money scheme through its Pangkabuhayan Program resembles a Ponzi scheme, where the profits or payouts taken from incoming investors are paid to existing or earlier investors."[I]n a nutshell, [Wellcons' scheme is] encapsulated by the saying 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'-- considering that it does not have any underlying legitimate business where it could source its promised return on investments to its investors," according to the order."Wherefore, for violation of Section 44 of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RCC or R.A. 11232) in relation to Sections 8.1, 28.1 and 26.1 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), Section 6 of PD 902-A and Section 179(j) of the RCC and Section 5.1(m) of the SRC, the Certificate of Incorporation/the registration of Wellcons Unlimited Systems, Inc. as a corporation is hereby REVOKED," the order further stated.

4ID rules out sabotage in ammo dump fire Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:25 PM PDT THE 4th Infantry Division (4ID) ruled out sabotage in the fire incident that destroyed the ammunition dump depot in Camp Edilberto Evangelista, Barangay Patag on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.The lock [in the doors] are intact. Meaning nobody tampered with the lock," Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Sta. Maria, 10th Forward Service Support Unit commander of the 4ID, said during the press conference on Tuesday.Sta. Maria added that the ammunition storage faciltiy has an updated fire safety inspection certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) dated March 22, 2022.He said each magazine in the ammo complex were inspected by the BFP to ensure that their facilities are safe."Our ammo depot is a standard ammunition storage facility. It follows a rigid and strict protocol on the structure itself, and the people assigned to it are trained and experts," Major General Mamawag, the 4ID commander, said."Even me, as the commander, cannot enter the facility without the official approval of the command people," he added.The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and investigation has yet to start as the site is still in its soaking and cooling stage.The 4ID created its own board of inquiry composed of army officials and other civilian stakeholders.Mamawag invited officials from Barangay Patag and representatives from the City Government to join the investigation, which is set to begin this week.The police's Scene of the Crime Operation and the Bureau of Fire Protection will also be conducting their own probes.The fire incident that broke out around 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday has caused an estimated damage of worth P27.7 million, according to the 4ID.Three civilians have gotten minor injuries during the incident. They were identified as Reynald Quirweca, 45; Curt Angelo Cuizon, 15; and Acolbay Escalante, 22. They were immediately brought and treated at the Camp Evangelista Station Hospital. They were discharged on Tuesday.There was no recorded casualty among the military personnel.A total of 61 families or 327 individuals, residing near the facility, evacuated and were given assistance by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Northern Mindanao.Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner, the commanding general of the Philippine Army, for his part, said that the fire incident in Camp Evangelista is not isolated.He added that military facilities in other countries have also experienced the burning of their ammunition storage facilities without external threats.

You are subscribed to email updates from SUNSTAR. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States