Spotting Investment Scams: BDO Foundation and the SEC Guide Filipinos

Check with SEC. The video not only identifies red flags of investment scams but also encourages viewers to check with the SEC before sealing an investment deal.

Investment scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it harder to distinguish genuine opportunities from fraudulent ones.  The adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" remains crucial, but discerning legitimate investments requires vigilance. This is where the BDO Foundation and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) step in to help Filipinos navigate the complex world of investing safely. 

This is a challenge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and BDO Foundation are trying to address through a partnership project.

The two organizations recently released two entertaining and educational investor protection videos titled “Check with SEC” and “Legit Investments? It’s a Date.” The short videos reveal potential investment red flags, teach viewers what questions to ask and how to verify existing business information, and encourage the public to check with the proper authorities like the SEC when choosing the right investment.

“Doble o higit pa buwan-buwan na kita... Malamang scam ‘yan!”

Check with SEC. The video not only identifies red flags of investment scams but also encourages viewers to check with the SEC before sealing an investment deal.

There are many ways to spot investment red flags. One is to ask the right questions and listen to and study the answers. The music video “Check with SEC” listed examples: promising an easy “double your investment” (or more) monthly income, requiring one to recruit other investors for bonuses, and the need to deposit investment in the agent’s personal bank account to facilitate the process, among many others.

These are only some of the common methods that scammers use to lure potential investors to shell out their hard-earned money. Oftentimes, the offers promise high-yielding returns that entice unsuspecting individuals to invest.

Registered to sell securities?

Legit Investments? It's a Date. The video urges investors, “Bago mag-invest, mag-imbestiga." 

 

The video “Legit Investments? It’s a Date” tells the story of Aldea as she investigates three potential investment opportunities. She finds her match by fully understanding her role as an investor, learning more about the business, and asking for the right documents. 

One of the many lessons viewers can learn from the video is that being SEC-registered does not automatically mean that a business is licensed to offer investment products. Some of the required documents to look for are permit to sell or offer securities, order of registration, and prospectus and salesman certificate.

The videos are now accessible on the Facebook page of the SEC and soon on other platforms of SEC and its partners, as well as on the BDO Foundation YouTube playlist. These will also be used in training seminars and on-ground campaigns. 

Shared commitment to empower Filipinos through education. BDO Foundation highlights the importance of collaborating with organizations like the SEC who share the same advocacy in helping Filipinos make smarter decisions in managing their finances. (Photos courtesy of the SEC)

“BDO Foundation, being a staunch advocate of financial education, also believes in the importance of investor protection. This shared project not only helps prevent Filipinos from falling victim to investment scams but also builds and restores confidence in legitimate investment opportunities,” shared BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito.

Safe Births, Happy Moms: BDO Foundation's Gift to Philippine Healthcare

BDO Foundation has been making significant improvements to healthcare facilities across the Philippines, focusing on creating comfortable and safe birthing environments for expectant mothers.  Recent renovations, such as those at the CHO Panganakan ng San Jose in Nueva Ecija, showcase their commitment to improving maternal healthcare. These renovated centers aren't just buildings; they're designed as welcoming spaces for mothers and their newborns, prioritizing comfort and safety.  The initiative, supported by BDO Unibank and its network, demonstrates a substantial investment in improving the overall healthcare system and ensuring better outcomes for moms and babies.  This is a commendable effort to improve access to quality maternal care in the Philippines.

7-Year-Old Soldier's Daughter's Wise Words: A Lesson in Financial Literacy

Empowering soldiers with financial literacy. Major Maria Theresa Babiera of the Philippine Army shares her story on financial discipline during the town hall event, organized by BDO Foundation and the BSP, to discuss strategies for advancing the financial literacy programs of government agencies

Major Maria Theresa Babiera of the Philippine Army is a beneficiary of the BDO Foundation's impactful financial literacy program.  This program, a corporate social responsibility initiative of BDO Unibank, partners with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to promote financial inclusion nationwide.

During a recent BDO Foundation and BSP town hall event, "Kita-Kita," Major Babiera shared a heartwarming anecdote. While shopping with her seven-year-old daughter, she asked if the child wanted to buy something.  The daughter's reply was remarkable: "Mom, is that a necessity or something unimportant? You don't need to buy for me if it's a luxury."

This insightful response showcased the effectiveness of Major Babiera's financial education efforts.  Attributing her knowledge to seminars and financial literacy modules, she emphasized the program's impact on her family's life.

Financial Discipline: A Way of Life

From duty to way of life. Navy Capt. Michael Barrion emphasizes that financial literacy is now a daily practice for soldiers.

Since 2019, the BDO Foundation, AFP, and BSP collaboration has provided extensive financial training to military personnel.  A Memorandum of Agreement solidified this commitment to enhance financial management skills, covering planning, saving, budgeting, investing, debt management, and scam avoidance.

This initiative has significantly shifted mindsets within the AFP. BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito noted a surge in interest in investment products following training sessions.  While investments are gaining traction, debt management and scam prevention remain key focus areas.

The AFP has trained over 50,000 personnel, integrating financial literacy into its career training programs. Navy Captain Michael Barrion highlighted the positive impact on soldier focus and stress levels, stating that almost half of Filipino soldiers are now financially literate, with 76 trained instructors.  By incorporating financial education into each soldier's personal scorecard, the AFP ensures financial literacy becomes ingrained – a way of life, not just a requirement.

BDO Foundation Extends Helping Hand to Thousands Affected by Typhoon Carina

Distribution of relief packs through one of BDO Foundation’s partners, Caritas Manila. (Photo courtesy of Caritas Manila’s official Facebook page)

BDO Foundation, the philanthropic arm of BDO Unibank, has stepped up to provide relief to over 12,000 families impacted by Typhoon Carina. The foundation, in collaboration with partners like Caritas Manila, Tanging Yaman Foundation, and local government units, distributed 12,350 relief packs across Luzon, reaching communities affected by flooding in Bulacan (Malolos, Calumpit, Bocaue, Hagonoy, Meycauayan, and Obando), Pampanga (Macabebe and Masantol), Ilocos Sur (Vigan), Rizal, and Metro Manila.

BDO Foundation donated food packs containing rice, canned goods, and drinking water. “BDO Foundation hopes that through this simple act of kindness, we are able to show our solidarity to our kababayans and to help in giving them hope as they bounce back from this calamity,” shared BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito.

Apart from the relief packs, BDO Foundation, through BDO Network Bank, also delivered cleaning materials to 150 schools across NCR, region 3, and region 4A to help flooded school communities prepare their facilities for the opening of classes.

BDO Unibank's Strategy For Greater Financial Inclusion Among Filipinos

Many of us Filipinos may not yet fully understand what financial literacy is.

Financial literacy is the knowledge about our financial life, or knowledge of proper handling of money, proper saving, proper spending, and how to grow money. The lack of knowledge of many Filipinos in these matters is a big reason why many Filipinos are poor and even more impoverished. Whereas people who know about financial literacy, such as the rich, get even richer. That's also something I often hear other people complain about... Why are the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer? Then it will be followed by blaming the government or anyone else to blame.

Blaming other people is not the solution to get you out of poverty. That said, no one can change your life but you, and only you. It doesn't mean that you will not need the help of other people. Let me repeat, you also need other people's help, not other people's blame. That means the way to get out of poverty starts with you. If you don't take action and continue to blame the government or other people for why you are still poor today, you will only continue to suffer.

Let's avoid passing on this mindset to our younger generations instead help and make them aware of the importance of money as early as possible. Especially hard earned money

The right thing to do is to start thinking, now, about how you can change your life. If you are poor right now, don't let yourself be like that forever. Because if you have a family, and you have children, will you allow them to suffer one day, especially when you are gone?

That's why I'm privileged to know and share with you one of BDO's innovations to educate everyone through technology, especially youngsters. Just like what the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, the BDO Foundation (BDOF) did. BDOF released five (5) financial education videos for students. These aim to catch students’ attention and enable them to learn about the value of money at the same time.

Let's admit that today's youth can better understand the things being taught and we want them to understand through video. Kudos to BDO Unibank for making videos on the platform that young people always go to – YouTube. 

1. “Walk Hard for the Money,” - which tells of an elementary school boy who chooses to walk to school instead of commuting despite being given an allowance. Along with other money-making efforts, these eventually pay off, allowing him to buy an electric scooter, which he later rides to school. https://youtu.be/DVVxWZlBWJ4

2.  “Bente Bente,” conveys the same message to young school children to the tune of “Tong Tong Pakitong-kitong.”. https://youtu.be/deT9uHiIsss 

3." Umutang ay Di Biro” inspired by the Filipino folk song Magtanim ay Di Biro, also uses music to tell older students to save their allowance, limit spending and pay debts on time. https://youtu.be/RantK4EGAK8 

4. “Ganda ni Girlie,” meanwhile, describes how a high school student’s resourcefulness and creativity help her earn income even in her youth. https://youtu.be/NvjjR3lbR8k 

5."Save to Have a Million: Junior Edition” discusses the right attitudes in handling money through a game show.

https://youtu.be/Li2UXFFY05M

Our children must start the habit of saving while they’re young, This is BDO's strategy for greater financial inclusion among Filipinos in the long run. 

Teach them young. Teach them right. 💛

BDO Foundation finds ways to reach out to Filipinos affected by Typhoon Fabian

 

In line with its disaster response advocacy, BDO Foundation recently assisted communities hit by heavy rains triggered by Typhoon Fabian and the southwest monsoon.

Supported by the St. John the Baptist Parish Church and St. Michael Parish Church, the foundation provided aid for more than 5,000 families in nine barangays in Calumpit, Bulacan and Masantol, Pampanga. Local officials and volunteers led by parish priests Fr. Ventura Galman and Fr. Roland Moraleja distributed the relief packs containing food, rice and drinking water to disaster-stricken beneficiaries.

The corporate citizenship initiative was also backed by BDO branches. BDO Waltermart-Malolos branch head Emelita Crisostomo and BDO Pampanga San Fernando-MacArthur Highway branch head Rowena Evaristo helped the foundation coordinate the delivery of the relief goods.

Masantol, Pampanga

BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, mounts relief operations for Filipinos affected by natural disasters or armed conflict. As a follow-up to its relief efforts, the foundation pursues long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction programs in disaster-hit areas.

The sixth typhoon to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this year, Fabian enhanced the southwest monsoon or habagat, bringing continuous rainfall and widespread flooding in parts of Luzon and the Visayas. Floods forced many residents in affected areas to evacuate.

Finding ways for Filipinos. Backed by the BDO Unibank community and church volunteers, BDO Foundation found ways to support thousands of families in Bulacan and Pampanga affected by Typhoon Fabian and the southwest monsoon.

BDO Foundation reassures commitment to rebuild lives through Peso-for-Peso Donation Drive

Filipinos are known for their natural resilience, manifested in those who, after a cataclysmic event, are able to rise from the debris and ashes of their destroyed lives, at times even with a sense of humor. They are battle-tested for any type of crisis and the fight against COVID-19 is no different. Even if this unprecedented pandemic is still far from over sans the availability of a vaccine, hopes are still high with the presence of means to survive the fight.

Giving its full support

BDO Foundation launched the Peso-for-Peso Donation Drive, a fundraising activity that ran from May until July 16, 2020. Proceeds were used to provide test kits and supplies to COVID-19 testing centers in underserved communities nationwide.

Under the drive, minimum donations of P500 and maximum donations of up to P1 million per donor were matched peso for peso by BDO Foundation. Donations from BDO and non-BDO customers, as well as BDO employees, poured in via the Bank’s e-banking channels—BDO Online and Mobile Banking, as well as through BDO Credit Card, ATMs, and branches.

BDO Foundation funded the donation of close to 10,000 PCR test kits for use of 10 hospitals across the country. These recipient-hospitals agreed to use the test kits for frontliners and people who cannot afford the high costs of testing.

Mario Deriquito, president of BDO Foundation, said the initiative forms part of the Foundation’s advocacy to rebuild lives and provide support to hospitals, especially rural health units all over the Philippines.

The Peso-for-Peso Drive also funded the donation of food packs to 8,000 underprivileged families in Bacoor, Cavite; Santa Rosa, Laguna; San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; and Caloocan City.

On top of these efforts, the BDO Foundation also supported the Philippine government’s RapidPass and ReliefAgad programs, highlighting the importance of collaboration between the private sector and the national government.

The Bank, through the Foundation, donated 300 smartphones with prepaid loads and 550 power banks to the Department of Science and Technology in support of the RapidPass System. RapidPass used QR codes, which facilitated the quick passage of the vehicles of over 500,000 authorized frontliners. The smartphones donated by the Foundation served as QR scanners at 180 checkpoints, where there were special lanes for frontliners.

Additionally, BDO Foundation also provided support to facilitate one-time passwords to users of ReliefAgad, a web application that allowed those entitled to a cash aid to register online and to receive their financial assistance safely and swiftly through electronic payment systems or directly from banks.

Response through partnership

Isolate, test and trace comprise the backbone of an effective COVID-19 response, according to the World Health Organization. Many countries who have successfully contained the spread of the virus implemented such protocol. Now, the Philippines is no longer too far behind with the pilot implementation of Project ARK’s pooled RT-PCR testing in two key cities in the country, namely, Makati and Cebu.

Pooled testing combines swab samples from individuals and examines them together using a single reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kit. Pools of five, 10, or 20 persons are tested depending on the prevalence of COVID-19 in an area. Considered a game-changer in the fight to contain the coronavirus, the method is seen to boost testing capacity, expedite tests and significantly reduce the cost of RT-PCR kits. Based on extensive research conducted by the Philippine Society of Pathologists, pooled testing is very effective.

BDO Foundation is funding the pilot implementation, covering the costs of automated extractor machines for each city, training of health workers on proper swabbing, PCR test kits, and other peripherals.

Apart from Go Negosyo, who spearheads Project ARK, BDO Foundation is in collaboration with the local governments of Makati and Cebu, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, who will be its partner-testing center for the pilot implementation in Makati, and the University of Cebu Medical Center and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for the pilot implementation in Cebu.

Pilot implementation of RT-PCR pooled testing in Makati covered 6,000 individuals, mostly market vendors, and public utility drivers. In Cebu, pilot implementation will cover 4,000 individuals, also market vendors, and public utility drivers.

A worthy cause

BDO Unibank president and CEO Nestor V. Tan, who also sits as a trustee of BDO Foundation, said the support for the pooled testing project comes with the belief that it will address the key areas of cost, accessibility, and timeliness. The implementation of the project is seen to not only benefit Cebu and Makati but will hopefully impact the whole country as well.

“We always believed that the fight against COVID is not the public sector’s alone or the private sector’s. It is a joint initiative by all of us working in the same direction. We are a big supporter of Go Negosyo’s Project ARK because clearly it is not about the trade-off between life and livelihood but it’s trying to address both because one cannot exist without the other,” he said.

BDO Foundation, BDO Remit care

BDO Foundation : PRIORITIZING HEALTH

Repatriated overseas Filipinos at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) receive hygiene kits before they go back home to their respective provinces. In coordination with BDO Foundation, BDO Remit turned over hundreds of bags of hygiene kits to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 and the PITX, which were then distributed to overseas Filipinos who were sent back here due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

The repatriated overseas Filipinos, who have already tested negative in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and completed their required quarantine period, were then transported back to their home provinces thru the assistance of OWWA.