The help center set up by the provincial government at the Bohol Wisdom School (BWS) in Tagbilaran City for victims of the so-called “Repa” investment scam has assisted 965 individuals who claimed to have lost a whopping total of P330 million through the alleged Ponzi scheme.

In a statement issued Monday, Governor Art Yap who personally led the initiative said 150 affidavits have been filed by buyers and sellers of the investment scheme while 55 administrators have been identified on the day the center was launched on Monday.

“Filing of appropriate cases to follow soon,” the governor said.

The help center which was manned by the Capitol and Philippine National Police (PNP) – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) accepted complaints and offered free legal assistance to the victims.

However, Yap has urged other investors to file their complaints at municipal police stations to avoid congestion as hundreds of complainants trooped to the BWS to convey their greivances.

CIDG Bohol chief Lt. Col. Saturnino Estigoy also echoed Yap’s statement saying that it would be more practical for victims to file their complainants with the local police instead of the CIDG office at Camp Francisco Dagohoy in Tagbilaran City or the BWS.

“Yung iba galing pa sa malalayong lugar, parang impractical na kasi na pumunta pa sila dito sa Tagbilaran, pwede naman sila e-entertain doon sa municipal stations,” he said.

Based on speculations, the alleged Ponzi, or pyramid scheme, has duped Boholanos of over P1 billion in investments but so far, the CIDG and National Bureau of Investigation have received complaints from investors claiming losses of over P100 million and P60 million, respectively, on top of the P330 million of missing payouts of complainants who went to the BWS.

Authorities are expecting more victims of the alleged Ponzi scheme to come forward in the next days.

According to Yap, the help center at the BWS will remain open for the rest of the week.