TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Oct. 12 (PIA) -- The provincial government of Bohol has set up a help center at the Bohol Wisdom School (BWS) gymnasium in Tagbilaran City on Oct. 11 to assist victims of the so-called “Repa” investment scam in the province.

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

Gov. Arthur Yap faced the victims who flooded the BWS gymnasium who were seeking help from the provincial government.

As of Oct. 11, the help center has assisted 965 individuals who claimed to have lost a total of P330 million through the “repa” scam.

There were 150 affidavits filed by buyers and resellers while 55 administrators were identified.

“I understand that many can’t go to the Bohol Wisdom Gym because it’s still inconvenient to travel, so we’re really looking for a way to take care of everyone. Currently, the Bohol Wisdom Gym is also full of people who want to file a lawsuit,” the governor said.

Yap announced that the BWS gymnasium will still remain open for a week to receive people who would like to avail of the province’s free legal assistance.

He encouraged the victims from the towns to go to their police stations to file complaints.

The governor signed on Oct. 10, 2021, Executive Order (EO) No. 49, which created a task force that will help expedite the probe and filing of cases against the perpetrators of the alleged “repa” scam.

The task force is comprised of officials from National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) , Criminal and Intelligence Detection Group (CIDG) and the Capitol’s Legal Office.

Yap wants to have cases filed against the suspects as soon as possible to help the victims recover their lost investments. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)