News Briefs: June 27, 2019

MANILA, Philippines — An investment company linked to the controversial Kapa Community Ministry International Inc. (Kapa) has asked the Supreme Court to have them removed from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s blacklist.

In a petition filed on June 20, Rhema International Livelihood Foundation Inc. denied the SEC’s finding that its online-based investment scheme Cirfund was fraudulent.

According to company counsel Engracio Icasiano, Cirfund is a donor of Kapa, which President Rodrigo Duterte recently ordered shut down for running a Ponzi-like scheme that promises unrealistically high returns on investments.

Rhema also asked the high court to order Mr. Duterte and SEC chair Emilio Aquino to pay P3 billion in damages for stopping the operations of Kapa and Cirfund, and for the President to be subjected to impeachment proceedings “for culpable violation of Art. II Sec. 6 and Art. III known as the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution.” —Dona Z. Pazzibugan

CSC: Gov’t offices can’t ‘reserve’ jobs for friends, family

MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) on Wednesday reminded all government offices that job vacancies cannot and should not be “reserved” for friends or relatives.

“We received a complaint letter from an applicant who was told that the position she [was] applying for has already been reserved for an insider,” CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said, adding that the incident happened in the Davao region.

“There are no reservations in public service,” she said, adding that the practice violates the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service and the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions.

Those found guilty of violating these rules can face charges of grave misconduct, abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The CSC chief said those who have similar experiences can file a formal complaint through email ([email protected]) or text (0908-8816565). —Patricia Denise M. Chiu

SSS reminder: Condonation program ends Sept. 1                                                                  

MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) said it hoped to collect fees from about half of 132,000 delinquent employers before its condonation program ends on Sept. 1.

SSS president and chief executive officer Aurora Cruz Ignacio said the condonation program exempted employers from paying the penalties for delinquent contributions, but not from paying the principal amount.

She said that so far, the SSS had collected P378.71 million in unpaid premiums from 16,460 employers with 115,112 employees since March, and had waived more than P1 billion in unpaid penalties.

But there remain 115,000 delinquent employers who have yet to settle their obligations, she added.

Ignacio reminded employers that paying the premiums of their workers allows them to maximize their benefits and privileges as SSS members. —Leila B. Salaverria

Misuari seeks to withdraw travel bond

MANILA, Philippines — Moro National Liberation Front founding chair and former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari has sought the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s permission to withdraw his P920,000 travel bond, saying he has no scheduled travel in the near future.

Misuari, who faces two graft and two malversation through falsification charges in connection with an allegedly anomalous “ghost textbooks” deal, also asked that his scheduled marking and pretrial dates be postponed, to give him time to locate and compile relevant documentary exhibits.

The crime allegedly took place in 2001, though the case was filed only in 2007. —Patricia Denise M. Chiu