By J. Jala | 11:28 AM October 09, 2021
Hundreds of “ripa” victims stormed the Camp Francisco Dagohoy Heaquarters on Friday night, Oct. 8, to ask help from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to recover their money after their “admins” failed to release their payout amounting to at least P300 million.
Reseller Maricel (family name protected) cried when she learned her “admin” failed to release P40 million as payout on Friday.
She said she even went to Dauis and Panglao towns to look for her “admins” but she failed to locate their whereabouts.
She said her “buyers” already threatened her if she could not return their money.
A journalist (name withheld) was at Camp Dagohoy when he learned that he was also scammed.
A teacher voluntarily helped them to formalize their complaint at CIDG. However, they transfered to Tagbilaran City Police Station to report the incident.
The investors might seek help from the National Bureau of Investigation.
“Ripa” is an informal group saving or money-lending system in the Philippines.. It is also called “Bubbo-ay”, “Tampo-tampo”, “Hulogay” and “Paluwagan”. It has an English equivalent, the Rotating Credit and Savings Association (ROSCA), which operates in different parts of the world.
“Ripa” is Filipino tradition still exists despite the presence of many other savings and investment programs in the country.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a financial inclusion survey found that 4% of adult Pinoys save money through the paluwagan system, while 9% have bank savings.
Moneymax.ph said “ripa” works based on trust and commitment among its participants who are typically friends, neighbors, co-workers, or classmates. A group consists of at least three members who pool their contributions into a common fund and take turns receiving the lump-sum payout weekly, twice a month, or monthly. A cycle goes on until the last member in the queue gets paid.
“Ripa” can be a risky venture for many reasons. Consider its drawbacks before you join.
In the Philippines, “ripas” aren’t registered and regulated by any government agency like the BSP, DTI, and SEC. They operate based only on verbal agreement among members. No legal contracts are used.
Thus, if a member fails to pay his contributions or the collector swindles the money, there’s no way you can sue the person.
