Davao City—The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned consumers in the Davao Region against an investment scheme that promises members and business partners a 30-percent monthly interest for 1 year. The SEC said in an advisory that Mer’s Business Center offers its investment scheme to the public through Facebook Live by Roger Camingawan as well as in his YouTube channel. “Records of the Commission show that Mer’s Business Center is not registered as a corporation or partnership. However, Mer’s Business Center has been issued a Certificate of Business Name Registration on 21 December 2020 by the Department of Trade and Industry under the name of its owner, Reynaldo Abing Camingawan,” the advisory read. “Nonetheless, Mer’s Business Center is not authorized to solicit investments from the public as it did not secure prior registration and/or license to solicit investments from the Commission as prescribed under Section 8 of the SRC [Securities Regulation Code].” It may be recalled that Roger Camingawan was mentioned in two separate advisories issued by the Commission against persons propagating fake  news on Kapa Community Ministry International Inc. (Kapa). In the advisory dated May 21, 2020, the SEC said Roger Camingawan was identified as one of the persons spreading false news that the cases filed by the SEC for violation of the SRC were already dismissed and said dismissal will render the Cease and Desist Order issued against Kapa as void. “In an Advisory dated 09 December 2019, Roger Camingawan was also  mentioned as untruthfully claiming  that  Kapa  has been registered as a crowdfunding entity under the Rules Governing Crowdfunding,” the SEC said. The agency reminded the public again “to learn from the lessons out of other similar investment schemes that have turned out to be scams—Kapa, ALMAMICO [Alabel-Maasim Small Scale Mining Cooperative]/ALAMCCO [Alabel-Maasim Credit Cooperative], and Rigen Marketing, among others.” Photographs the SEC posted alongside its communication dispatch on Sunday showed the organization and the Camingawans issuing promotional materials and announcing new branches. One photograph shows a social media screen shot of Roger Camingawan, purportedly the branch manager of Kidapawan, North Cotabato handing out a sack of rice to a woman as her month’s worth of “gross production.” “We are reminding the public to exercise caution when dealing with individuals or groups soliciting investments for and on their behalf,” the SEC said. “Please note that the SEC can not guarantee the recovery of your money.” Author Manuel Cayon Manuel “Awi” T. Cayon has written about Mindanao for national newspapers for more than two decades, mostly on conflict reporting, and on the political front. His stint with TODAY newspaper in the ’90s started his business reporting in Mindanao, continuing to this day with the BusinessMirror. The multiawarded reporter received a Biotechnology journalism award in January 2019, his third. A fellow of the US International Visitors’ Program Leadership in 2007 on conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution, Manuel attended college at the Mindanao State University and the Ateneo de Davao University.