Proteksyon hinggil sa financial products/investments

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | August 22, 2022

Dear Chief Acosta,

May batas bang nakasasaklaw tungkol sa mga investment products na nang-eengganyong maglagak ng pera kapalit ng mabilis na kita? Nagkataon kasing nawalan ako ng trabaho at ang huling suweldo ko ay nai-invest ko sa investment scheme buhat sa aking bangko at sinabi nilang kapag ako diumano'y makapagrekomenda pa ng dalawa pang investors para sa parehong produkto, ako ay kukubra ng tig-20% buhat sa kanilang mga investment. Napansin kong ang kita ko pala ay depende sa aking mga mare-recruit na investor. Hindi rin man lamang lubusang naipaliwanag sa akin kung paano magiging mabilis ang kita sa aking nai-invest na halaga ng advisor ng aking bangko. May pananagutan kaya ang aking bangko at ang naghikayat sa akin kaugnay nito, sapagkat lumipas na ang sampung buwan ay wala pa ring balita tungkol sa aking investment? Iyon na lamang ang tanging natitira kong pera matapos akong mawalan ng trabaho. - Baron

Dear Baron,

Para sa iyong kaalaman, maaaring ang Republic Act No. 11765 o ang Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act ang nakasasakop sa iyong sitwasyon. Ayon sa Section 3(f) ng nasabing batas:

“f) Investment fraud refers to any form of deceptive solicitation of investments from the public. This includes Ponzi schemes and such other schemes involving the promise or offer of profits or returns which are sourced from the investments or contributions made by the investors themselves, boiling room operations, and the offering or selling of investment schemes to the public without a license or permit from the SEC, unless such offering or selling involves exempt securities or are considered as exempt transactions as provided for under existing laws.”

Ibig sabihin, itinuturing ng batas na panloloko sa pamumuhunan ang anumang uri ng mapanlinlang na pangangalap ng pondo o kapital mula sa publiko. Kabilang ang Ponzi scheme at iba pang plano na nangangako ng kita na kinukuha mula mismo sa puhunan o kontribusyon ng mga namumuhunan.

Sa iyong sitwasyon, ang pangakong mabilis na kita, pati na ang pagkubra ng kita kung makakukuha ng bagong mamumuhunan ay dapat siyasating mabuti upang matiyak kung lehitimong investment ba ang iyong pinasok. Ito ay dahil na rin sa nabanggit mo na kukunin ang makukubra mong kita buhat sa puhunan na ibibigay ng iyong makukuhang bagong mamumuhunan. Samakatwid, galing sa kapital ng ibang mamumuhunan ang ibibigay sa iyo na tanda ng Ponzi scheme. Batay na rin sa inyong nailahad at kung pagbabasehan ang ipinalabas na advisory ng Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tungkol sa investment scams, ang hindi lubusang pagpapaliwanag at paggamit ng mga hindi maintindihan na mga “technical explanations” at nakalilitong paliwanag sa anumang negosyo o pagkakakitaan na may pangakong tubo ay isa ring senyales o “red flag” ng scam.

Kung sakaling mayroong panloloko na naganap sa iyong transaksyon o investment fraud, maaaring mapanagot ang iyong financial service provider o ang kumpanya/bangko/taong nag-alok at nangasiwa ng inyong investment tungkol dito. Kung sakali ring mapatunayang hindi tumupad ang nasabing institusyon o tao sa mga panuntunan ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas tungkol sa kanilang produktong inilako sa iyo ay maaari silang makulong at pagbayarin ng multa ayon sa Section 15 ng batas na nabanggit, nang walang alintana sa iba pang kasong maaari nilang kaharapin. Ayon sa batas:

“SEC. 15. Penalties. - Any person who willfully violates this Act or the rules, regulations, orders, or instructions issued by the financial regulators to implement this Act, shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year, but not more than five (5) years, or by a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That if the violation is committed by a corporation or a juridical entity, the directors, officers, employees, or other officers who are directly responsible for such violation shall be held liable thereto.

SEC. 16. Administrative Sanctions. - Without prejudice to the enforcement actions prescribed under Section 6(d) of this Act and the criminal sanctions provided under Section 15 of this Act, the administrative sanctions of the respective charters of the financial regulators shall be made applicable to a financial service provider, its directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents for violation of this Act or any related rules, regulations, orders or instructions of financial regulators; or to any persons found administratively liable for investment fraud: Provided, That for persons found responsible for investment fraud, the SEC may impose a fine of no less than fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) nor more than ten million pesos (P10,000,000) for each instance of investment fraud plus not more than ten thousand pesos (P10,000) for each day of continuing violation in addition to the other administrative sanction under Section 54 of Republic Act No. 8799: Provided, further, That in case profit is gained or loss is avoided as a result of the violation of this Act or investment fraud, a fine not more than three (3) times the profit gained or loss avoided may also be imposed by the financial regulator: Provided, finally, That in addition to the administrative sanctions that may be imposed, the authority of the financial service provider to operate in relation to a particular financial product or service may be suspended or cancelled by the financial regulator.”

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.