Philippine SEC Issues Cease Order Against Organization Linked to Journalist’s Murder

KIDAPAWAN — The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) has expressed support for a recent cease and desist order by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the Humanitarian and Spiritual Mission Apostulates of Davao and Asia, Inc. (HASMADAI). The order is part of a crackdown on the organization whose founder is implicated in the 2019 murder of a local journalist in Kidapawan, Mindanao.

According to Philippines News Agency, executive director of PTFoMS, the SEC issued the order on May 22, 2024, against HASMADAI and its affiliates for operating without proper authorization and contravening their stated corporate purposes as registered. The SEC’s enforcement was led by Chairman Emilio Aquino and targeted the operations that involved illicit securities sales, implicating 12 officials of HASMADAI, including Dante ‘Bobong’ Encarnacion Tabusares, also known as Ralph Jimmy Calaor Gayatin. Tabusares, self-described as Bishop/President/Trustee of HASMADAI, has been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the killing of Eduardo ‘Ed’ Dizon, a broadcaster for Brigada FM Kidapawan.

Dizon’s murder on July 10, 2019, followed his vocal criticisms of the KAPA Community Ministry, a scheme that Tabusares was reportedly involved in as a media coordinator and promoter. This organization was shut down earlier in 2019 by the SEC as an investment scam. The arrest of the alleged gunman, Junell Jane Andagkit Poten, in early May 2024, marked a significant advancement in the government’s response, spearheaded by the special investigation team of the PTFoMS.

The SEC’s action against HASMADAI stemmed from findings by its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD), which linked the organization’s activities to fraudulent schemes similar to those of KAPA, aimed at deceiving the public into investing significant sums with the promise of high returns. These operations had spread across various regions in the Philippines, including the CARAGA region, North Cotabato, the Davao region, and even parts of the Visayas and Luzon.

Gutierrez praised the SEC’s efforts, noting the broader implications of their investigation which also uncovered other potential legal violations by Tabusares and his associates, linking their financial activities directly to the circumstances surrounding Dizon’s murder. To further protect the public, the SEC has also directed all related parties acting on behalf of HASMADAI to adhere to the cease order.