SEC warns vs. group using PBBM to solicit investments

LEGAZPI: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Bicol has warned the public against engaging with Bagong Bansang Maharlika International Inc. (BBMII), a group whose corporate registration has been revoked due to illegal solicitation of investments. In a media release on Tuesday, SEC-Bicol information officer Arlyn Joy Alarcon said BBMII maintained operations in certain parts of Visayas and Mindanao, despite the issuance of a revocation order from the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department since November 2023. Alarcon said BBMII's corporate registration was revoked due to its collection of membership fees from residents of various local communities, promising to provide food security, free education, free hospitalization, cash assistance, and livelihood to all Filipinos aged one year and above worldwide. It also used President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s image as part of its marketing materials, creating a false impression that its programs are legitimate and sanctioned by the administration. SEC-Bicol said that the company violated Section 44 of Republic Act No. 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code (RCC), which provides that no corporation shall possess or exercise corporate powers other than those conferred by the RCC or its articles of incorporation. When the SEC first received complaints about BBMII going around different municipalities and cities, it issued a warning in August 2023 about its 'too good to be true' promises. The SEC said then that BBMII's registration only granted it a juridical personality to operate as a corporation but did not include activities to operate as a private social welfare and development agency. Source: Philippines News Agency