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BOSES NG PAMILYANG OFWs Ni GEORGE A. ARRIOLA... For Friday (Dec. 12) issue... (Mabagal na imbestigasyon ng SEC sa investment solicitation activities ng OFW Int’l Holdings, kinondena) .......... Nakatanggap kahapon ang IMBESTIGADOR at Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment and Investment Scams o TIRIS ng e-mail message (gearcom@philonline.com) mula sa ating kapamilyang OFW na si Henry C. na may kinalaman sa “investment solicitation activities” ng OFW Net Foundation, Inc. at ng marketing arm nito na OFW International Holdings, Inc. na sa kasalukuyan ay iniimbestigahan pa ng Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Sa kanyang mensahe, tahasang binatikos ni Henry ang mabagal na isinasagawang imbestigasyon ng SEC sa aniya ay ilegal na aktibidad ng dalawang grupo. Binigyang-diin pa ni Henry na habang tumatagal ay lumalaki ang posibilidad na marami pa ang mahikayat ng naturang grupo na ang target ay ang mahigit sa 7 milyon na OFWs sa buong mundo. “Posibleng makalikom ng milyong-milyong dolyar na pondo ang mga kinatawan ng 2 organisasyon dahilan sa gumagamit sila ng internet sa pagtataguyod ng kanilang pagso-solicit ng pondo para sa itatayo umano nilang OFW Bank sa taong 2006 na wala namang kaukulang awtoridad at lisensiya mula sa SEC,” pahayag pa ng OFW. Kaugnay ng matagal nating tinatalakay na isyu, nakiusap si Henry na bigyan natin ng espasyo ang nalathala kamakailan sa website na “ofwzone.com” na may kinalaman sa isinasagawang aktibidad ng 2 grupo. Bilang serbisyo publiko, narito ang nilalaman ng website sa paksang “Is it viable to establish a bank for OFWs?”: Are the projects being pursued by the OFWNet Foundation and OFW International Holdings under their so-called OFW Reintegration Program valid, legitimate and viable? These were among the questions raised by Sammy de los Santos, a financial consultant based in Jeddah, in his article "Noble Mission Statements No Guarantee for Safe Investments" published by Arab News on May 1. On May 12, Arab News published a point-by-point reply by OFW International Holdings official Jimmy Leonida, the gist of which was that their projects are all within the bounds of Philippine laws and are based on sound business practices. Tony Ranque, a co-convenor of the International Convenors for OFW Voting Rights in Alkhobar, comments on Leonida's reaction. ALKHOBAR -- I was expecting a point-by-point reply to the concerns raised by Sam delos Santos in his commentary but was disappointed as the more important ones are still left hanging. I believe most, if not all OFWs, believe in the vision and mission of OFWNet/OFWHoldings of political and economic empowerment of OFWs which is basically the wish of all of us, but it is in the strategies and approaches to attaining the realization of the vision and mission that we will always differ. The OFW Reintegration Program has been in existence since the mid-90s -- I agree many have tried and failed -- and there is no harm in trying again and again as it is also every OFW's wish to go back to our homeland and live together with his/her family again. The sooner, the better. Let OFW Net and OFW Holdings take their chosen course and let the future be the judge of all their efforts. However, every thinking OFW has the obligation to keep his/her fellow OFWs well informed to make a more intelligent decision, especially when investing his/her hard-earned money. We have to show each side of the coin as there are two sides of an issue always. So provided we stick to discussing issues and not personalities, the result will always be that everyone becomes a winner. As one of the only two OFWs denied membership by OFWNet/ OFWHoldings and therefore not qualified to invest into OFW Holdings (the other one is Gerry Capati -- we were told that we failed on the 6-month probationary period, a requirement which was non-existent at the time we remitted our money), may I just comment on what Jimmy Leonida had said: ''Question: Do you have the secondary license to solicit or offer shares of stocks in the primary market? Answer: We do not have that yet. It does not necessarily mean, however, that what we are doing is illegal (e.g. only members of a private organization get to own stakes with OFW International Holdings).'' My Comment: Registration Statement is required to be submitted to and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to sell shares of stock to those other than the original incorporators and stockholders. As confirmed by Jimmy, OFW Holdings is currently working for the application of secondary license, but as I understand it has only submitted the Registration Statement which has been undergoing investigation by SEC. Obtaining SEC approval of the Registration Statement seems to be taking a long time (since it was filed last August 2002) maybe due to Jimmy's claim that the OFW Holdings adopts unconventional and non-traditional approaches. Dahilan sa kakapusan ng espasyo ay sa susunod na isyu na ninyo matutunghayan ang karugtong ng e-mail message ni kapamilyang Henry. Para sa inyong komentaryo o reklamo, text lang po kayo sa ating 24-hour text messaging hotline na 0916-7421768. Dapat na magkaisa po tayong lahat upang ipaglaban ang karapatan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating modern-day heroes at kanilang pamilya. Hanggang sa Lunes, mabuhay ang pamilyang OFWs! # # #

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Hindi ko na napapakinggan sa Kabayan Radio ang ating programa. May bago na po ba kayong timeslot? Please inform us. Thanks and more power!