Filipinos warned about ‘bogus’ scheme touting links to President Marcos Jnr’s planned Maharlika state fund
- Philippine authorities warn that BBMII, which bears the name of the Maharlika state fund, is not licensed to solicit public funds
- Filipinos are at risk of losing sensitive personal data when they sign up for get-rich-quick schemes, analysts say
The schemes uncovered by This Week in Asia on social media platforms Facebook and YouTube involve joiners paying a registration fee or processing fee for an identification card to obtain the promised money.
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently warned the public against dealing with a corporation named Bagong Bansang Maharlika International Inc (BBMII), which references the president’s nickname BBM, or Bongbong Marcos, uses his picture alongside that of BBMII’s national director, Jovelyn Tibuasan, and appropriates the brand name of the Maharlika Investment Fund.
On its Facebook page, BBMII initially claimed the aid money would come partly from the wealth amassed by the late president Ferdinand Marcos Snr “for the future of the nation”, and contrary to news reports, the dictator did not die in Hawaii in 1989 but was still alive to this day. It later changed its story and claimed “a foreigner with a clean heart” was its generous donor.
The SEC said on August 24 that while BBMII’s registration as a corporation was approved on March 18 last year, it had not obtained a licence to solicit funds, give these away to the needy and undertake other social welfare activities.