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Bacolod City, PhilippinesThursday, November 15, 2012
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Choices We Make
with Benjamin Calderon
OPINIONS

Double your money

Benjamin Calderon

The financial scheme of double your money at least tripled the problems of those who unfortunately, to be polite, or unwisely, to be honest, invested in Aman Futures Group Philippines, Inc.  A financial pyramiding operation that reached the inevitable point of truth where obligations cannot be possibly paid in full.

The pitiful, sad and depressing individual stories of citizens taking their own life, losing life savings, left with debt, destroyed harmonious relationships between family and friend are part of the bigger story of how this suspected mastermind Manuel Amalilio, with the help of his conspirators, defrauded an estimated P12 billion from around 15,000 persons or an average of P800,000 each.

 An investigation of the affair needs to be done to determine responsibility, as well as accountabilities and, more importantly, to prevent future occurrence of the fraud.  The finger-pointing has started and a point of interest will be in Pagadian City where an estimated 90 percent of the businessmen believed in the unbelievable high rate of return on investment.  This development reveals the danger of being consumed with the desire for profit and another bitter lesson for those who have not learned the lesson that greed brings grief along.  Again, a double-your-money proposal over an attractive time period at least triples your problems. 

While the positive upswing of economic prosperity ripples through the nation, the Aman financial disaster and the murder of Julie Ann Rodelas point to the kind of animals our society has, and can further develop when not carefully addressed. The allegation that Julie’s tragic death resulted from the selfish idea of teaching her a lesson not to talk about Althea Altamirano having a child, because this truthful fact adversely affected Althea’s value as a commercial model, is most disturbing.  When we value ourselves and others in terms of money and aggravate the mistake by wanting to impatiently double our money is a recipe for human tragedy.  On a deeper note, we are encouraged to find more valuable the finer things in life that money cannot buy that only double the value of our life with meaningful significance.

Let us end with an attempt to smile  while digesting the choices we have made and will make with the following anecdote.  At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith.  "I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember that turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all.

 So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today."  He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: "I dare you to do it again."*

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