The mayor of Pagadian City said he offered use of a government-owned mall to Emmanuel Amalilio, the owner of Aman Futures Philippines, a failed double-your-money scheme that took billions from low-income investors.

According to a report on InterAksyon.com, Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co confirmed he met with Amalilio. "Since it is a five-story building, they could rent the third floor. So after a week, we met here in Pagadian and went to see the mall. That was all. We met there, and then immediately headed to my office. He was maybe just an hour and a half here in Pagadian, and then he went back home immediately after," he said.

Co added he cancelled the business permit of Aman Futures Philippines in April and only issued a temporary permit so it could pay off investors. "I’ve been warning the people (against Aman) through my radio program almost every week," he added.

"But according to Maria Donna Coyme, an agent of Aman Futures, the bulk of investment came in the middle of July after the mayor issued the temporary permit to Amalilio's firm," the InterAksyon report said.

For more on this story, log on to InterAksyon.com.