Sandiganbayan junks ill-gotten wealth case vs FM, FL, ‘cronies’

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

alleged ill-gotten wealth consisting of funds and other properties, which the respondents allegedly unlawfully acquired. Government lawyers said defendant businessmen and firms obtained loans in millions of dollars from the DBP and the Government Service Insurance System from 1973 to 1982.

T he complaint, on the other hand, alleges the Marcos spouse accumulated ill-gotten wealth by awarding government contracts to their relatives, business associates, dummies, nominees and agents.

W ith regard to Sabido and Yulo, the Sandiganbayan said the PCGG failed to present that their shares of stocks in Lianga Bay and YKR, respectively, belong to the government.

Nor is there evidence that respondents took undue advantage of their connections or relationship with former President Marcos or his family, relatives and close associates to acquire those shares of stock,” the decision noted.

In a 156-page decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division ordered the lifting of the sequestration order that the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) issued on Lianga Bay Logging Corp. and Yulo King Ranch (YKR) Corp.

T he anti-graft court also reminded the government that while efforts to recover of ill-gotten wealth should be firmly pursued, “the pursuit should not be mindless as to be oppressive towards anyone.”

It said the government must efficiently discharge its duty to present sufficient evidence in order to obtain favorable rulings in ill-gotten wealth cases.

In fine, this Court finds that the plaintiff (Republic of the Philippines) failed to prove by preponder- ant evidence that the properties alleged in the complaint are ill-gotten and/or was beneficially owned and controlled by former President Marcos and his family,” the Sandiganbayan decision stated.

The totality of evidence against the defendants failed to show the schemes and strategies employed by herein defendants to hide the supposed ill-gotten wealth,” it added.

A lso cleared of any wrongdoing were businessmen Peter A. Sabido, Luis D. Yulo, Roberto Benedicto, and Nicolas Dehesa, and former Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) executives Jose R. Tengco Jr., Rafael Sison, Cesar Zalamea and Don Ferry.

T he case is part of Civil Case No. 0024 filed by the PCGG in 1987 and amended in 1988 seeking to recover in favor of the government

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs on Wednesday asked all anti-illegal drugs law enforcement agencies to account and submit to the lower chamber the complete inventory list of all seized illegal drugs that remain under their custody pending court resolution of their cases.

Nevertheless, such resolution should be implemented through the passage of a bill containing the corresponding appropriation and other details relating to election of delegates, the specific apportionment per district, and the holding of the Constitutional Convention itself, among others. That is why we filed two measures, one for the ‘Calling’, which is RBH, and one as implementing measure, which is a House bill,” said Rodriguez.

Despite the efforts of Congress to address the economic situation of the country, the lawmaker said the Philippines’ FDI regulatory restrictiveness hampers the flow of muchneeded foreign investments.

He said FDI standing among Asean countries shows that since the 1980s till the 2010s, the Philippines remained behind its neighbors, saying it is not among the top 5 countries that attracts foreign investors.

“I cannot overemphasize the fact that despite the passage of structural reforms to liberalize the economy in the last administration on the Amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Amendments to the Foreign Investment Act and Public Service Act, the reality is that constitutional limitations countervenes the objectives of these laws,” he said. We should consider that the Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and all laws must conform to it and not the other way around.

Meaning, not unless and until the constitutional restrictions are removed, the apprehensions and hesitancy on the part of the investors will consequently remain,” he said.

R odriguez said constitutionalists and legal experts Chief Justice Renato Puno, Justice Vicente Mendoza and Justice Adolf Azcuna favor amending the Constitution.

For the business sector, he said large business organizations like the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry represented by its president, George Barcelon, the Management Association of the Philippines represented by Atty. Perry Pe, and the Foundation for Economic Freedom represented by Calixto Chikiamco are all in favor of lifting the restrictive provisions of the Constitution.

For his part, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said although the convening of a Con-con is the best and more popular mode of charter change, Con-Con is an inordinately expensive enterprise with a reported budget amounting to P18 billion.

“Cha-cha is both out of tune and out of step now because the government has to first fully address priority concerns on poverty alleviation, lack of food security, disastrous effects of an 8.7-percent inflation rate, and the adverse consequences of a possible recession,” he said.

Holding the election of ConCon delegates simultaneous with the Barangay and SK elections on October 30, 2023 will gravely taint the grassroots elections with partisan politics, while the law requires that the Barangay and SK elections should be non-partisan so much so that the village and youth elections are not held simultaneous with local and national elections to insulate them from partisan politics,” Lagman added.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers’s call was prompted by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Virgilio Moro Lazo’s revelation about the alleged agency’s previous policy of paying 30 percent of confiscated drugs to assets or informants as reward for successful drug seizures.

“As of now, we have no clear knowledge or understanding on the disposition of previously seized drugs that are still under the custody of law enforcement agencies such as the PDEA, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation,” Barbers said in a statement.

“ We know that pending destruction of those enormous amounts of seized drugs like shabu which are still in custody of these agencies, there are huge temptations that their custodians could be bribed for large amounts of money, to pilfer or let go these illegal drugs for recycling,” he added.

Barbers said he and his colleagues would want to know the whereabouts, disposition and case status of the 990 kilos worth P6.7 billion drugs seized by PNP agents in Manila in October last year; the 1,855 kilos of shabu worth P11 billion seized on March 15, 2022 in Infanta, Quezon; the P11.953 billion worth of illegal drugs reportedly seized by the Bureau of Customs in various drug bust operations in 2022 and turned over to the PDEA; the 365 kilos of shabu worth P730 million seized in August 2000 from six Chinese nationals in Sariaya off Tayabas Bay in Quezon, among others.

Under the RA 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the law has a specific period that within only 24 or 36 hours, the seized drugs must be destroyed. But this does not happen and the anti-drug agents have many reasons to keep them under their custody. And if they have them in custody, there is a great tendency for these drugs to be pilfered, lost and recycled,” he said.

T hey were also accused of misappropriating, embezzling or converting to their own use funds of the government financial institutions.

I n seeking the reconveyance of the said corporations, the PCGG relied on the affidavit of Rolando Gapud, who claimed to be Marcos’ financial advisor.

Gapud claimed to have personal knowledge that the late President used his close business associate Yulo as his dummy in YKR.

However, the anti-graft court stressed that an affidavit is considered mere hearsay evidence when its affiant did not take the witness stand.

After a careful review of both documentary and testimonial evidence of all the parties involved, the Court finds that the plaintiff failed to prove its case by preponderance of evidence against Sabido, Yulo, Dehesa, Ferry, Sison and spouses Marcoses,” the ruling stated.

T he PCGG accused Sabido, who served as a member of the Batasang Pambansa from 1984 to 1986, of acquiring assets, funds and properties grossly disproportionate to his salaries and lawful income by taking advantage of his connection with the Marcoses.

However, the Sandiganbayan said the government failed to present evidence that such assets were acquired during his term as a member of the Batasang Pambansa.

Same with Yulo, there was no evidence presented that would establish his connection with the former President and/or his family. Being a major stockholder of both Pimeco (Philippine Integrated Meat Corp.) and YKR does not automatically make him a close associate or dummy,” the ruling pointed out.

It can be recalled that in 2019, the Sandiganbayan junked the P200 billion forfeiture case filed against the Marcos family and Constante Rubio, who is accused of acting as bagman of the Marcoses.

DICT’s Lamentillo is Heroes’ Notable Female Government Leader of the Year

DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo is Heroes’ Notable Female Government Leader of the Year.

T he recognition was conferred on Lamentillo during the Asia’s Modern Hero Awards 2023 held at Okada Manila on February 17, 2023.

A sia’s Modern Hero Awards honors the heroism and contributions of outstanding individuals in Public Service, Educational Institutions, Disaster Reliefs, Human Development, Civil Society, Health & Environment, Business & Entrepreneurial, Justice and Legal System.

“I thank the members of the Asia’s Modern Hero Awards Council for this award. To be recognized as the Heroes’ Notable Female Government Leader of the Year is heartwarming and humbling, because I am only one of the many public servants, leaders and citizens who have been doing their share for our nation’s growth and development,” said Lamentillo.

We could not have accomplished much in ‘Build, Build, Build’ if not for the 6.5 million Filipinos who helped us build infrastructure projects to improve mobility and connectivity, and open opportunities for development in the countryside. Now, as we

‘Build Better More,’ we will be able to accomplish more also with the support of our ‘kababayans,’ especially as we transform our country into a truly digital nation,” she added. Lamentillo is DICT’s Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Foreign Relations, who is in charge of the department’s strategic communications and media, international relations, and legislative affairs. She is also DICT’s spokesperson and focal person for Presidential and Cabinet directives. Pr ior to this, she was the chairperson of the Build, Build, Build Committee of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the concurrent chairperson of the Infrastructure Cluster Communications Committee.

T he Asia’s Modern Hero Awards 2023 also recognized Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan; Rep. Richard Gomez; Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez; Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.; Charo Santos-Concio; Karen Davila; The Manila Times President and CEO Dante “Klink” Ang II; The Manila Times Chairman Emeritus Dante A. Ang Sr.; Philippine Economic Zone Authority Officer-in-Charge Director General Tereso Panga; and Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta, among others.

Bicol Cessna plane crash rescuers face weather, terrain challenges–EDC chief

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE search and rescue teams deployed by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) are currently on the ground about one kilometer away from the crash site.

“As of this morning, they were about a kilometer away. But you know the terrain is tough. If you’ve seen the pictures, its very steep, it’s all rocky, loose, very hard, even if you’re only a kilometer away, it’s very hard to get to,” said EDC Chairman Federico Lopez on Wednesday during the 4th Philippine Environment Summit.

A s of press time, there is no word yet from the rescue teams if they have reached the site of the Cessna 340 that went missing shortly after it took off from the Bicol International Airport at 6:45 a.m. last Saturday.

So there’s a safety issue also on the part of the rescuers. They have to make sure to they do it right given that Mayon is at alert level 2 and they have to make sure they have the right route too because it’s subject to flash floods.

So they’re being very careful. Finally, they were able to get through. Teams were dropped. Now they are making their way on land. So far no word yet that they’ve reached the site,” added Lopez. T he aircraft was piloted by Cap - tain Rufino James Crisostomo Jr. and Joel Martin with passengers Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan, both Australian citizens and technical consultants of EDC. The company has already informed their respective families and is constantly in touch with them.

“ We’re hoping that it’s still a search and rescue not search and recovery. We’re still hoping that we can find survivors but it’s been, happened over the weekend, tough weather and you see the shape of the plane but we’re still hopeful that there’s a miracle and that prayers that there will be [survivors] but also we’re very conscious of the safety of the rescu- ers,” he said.

EDC is working closely with the local government unit of Camalig, Albay.

Responders from Camalig’s Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Committee, the Philippine Army, Bureau of Fire Protection, and EDC have been deployed through two search and rescue teams.

“Our primary concern is the swift and safe rescue of our four colleagues who were onboard the aircraft. We are thankful to Mayor Carlos Baldo for mobilizing his team to help us do this,” said Atty. Allan V. Barcena, Assistant Vice President and head of Corporate Relations and Communications at EDC.