The Court of Appeals has junked the motion for reconsideration filed by officers and agents of Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc., or KAPA, who sought to reverse its decision declaring valid the 20 search warrants issued by a Manila trial court.
The warrants allowed the National Bureau of Investigation to collect evidence in connection with KAPA’s alleged involvement in a P50-billion Ponzi investment scheme.
The CA ruling was issued on 12 May and was penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando of the CA’s 13th Division.
In its decision, the CA said the arguments raised by KAPA in its motion for reconsideration were the same as those that were already raised and rejected in the CA’s 27 March 2023 ruling.
The CA also said that the Rules on the Use of Body-Worn Cameras in the Execution of Warrants, which was issued by the Supreme Court on 29 June 2021, was not applicable to the search warrants issued in the case because they were issued before the rules took effect.
The search warrants were issued by the Regional Trial Court of Manila Branch 20 in 2019. KAPA was accused of soliciting money from the public in the guise of investment, with a promise of a 30 percent return per month.
The SEC filed a complaint against KAPA in 2019, alleging that the company violated the Securities Regulation Code and committed syndicated estafa.
The NBI conducted an investigation and obtained search warrants for KAPA’s offices in Quezon City, Sarangani Province, General Santos City, Taytay, Rizal, Compostela, and other locations.
The NBI said it personally witnessed the pyramiding activities of KAPA when its agents went to the company’s offices to investigate and conduct case build-up.