With Boholanos who are like wandering nomads and therefore settling in all corners of Mindanao, it was very likely that scores of them were victims too of the multi-billion investment scam that duped as of last count as many as 15,000. Headquartered in Pagadian City, in Zamboanga del Sur, and spread to Lanao del Sur and Cebu, the sinister caper of Amana Futures Group, Phils., was believed to have fooled a number of Boholanos, according to an information provided by Deputy Director Virgilio Mendez of the National Bureau of Investigation. Director Mendez, a Boholano from Ubay, confirmed that there were Boholanos who fell prey to the scam. The revelation was seconded by a successful Boholano businessman, who has made a fortune in the franchising business who is now based in Dipolog City, in Zamboanga del Norte. He said he heard of many Boholanos in the Zamboanga provinces telling him their tales of woes as a result of the big-time swindle.

The businessman, who asked not to be named, said some of the victims were themselves to be blamed for the mess they’re in now. In the first place, he said, the victims should wonder to high heaven why an investment earned as high as 30 to 50% in interest in so short a time like one week or one month. The same businessman said Boholanos from as far as Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental and Iligan city in Lanao del Norte were also victims of the racket. But he did not divulge their identities.  In the case of the NBI official, he confirmed in a text message that a lot of Boholanos were indeed victims of the swindle.  “Am sure daghan mga Sano (Boholanos) victim, apan, whether Boholano or from other provinces they deserved special consideration especially the poor,” the director said.  He said that if there’s payment for their investments, priority should be given to the poor and those small-time investors. “Lu-oy kayo sila. Namasin nga makab-ot ila mga ambisyon makapalit sakyanan bag-o gamit sa balay, etc.”

 He said that a lot of the victims hail from Pagadian City. With Pagadian City as the epicenter of the investment scandal, the mayor, Samuel Co, was caught in the eye of the raging storm. Although he denied any involvement, the city mayor was investigated why he acted too late to prevent from happening what could be the biggest swindle of unwary investors in recent memory. The mayor claimed that he was a victim also after parting his own money thinking that it was too good to be true only to discover only too late that just like the others he was taken for a ride. As to the status of the case against those behind the financial debacle, Mendez said it was not yet filed in court and therefore the warrants against the suspects are still to be issued.  Mendez clarified that “Manuel Amalilio, founder of Aman Futures Group Phils. Inc., is not a Filipino-Malaysian but a Malaysian named Mohammad Suffian Saaid who is married to a Filipina.” (With reports from RVO)