Panel formed to work on Amalilio’s extradition

JUSTICE Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar will head the seven-man panel to be sent to Malaysia from March 13 to 15 to begin the extradition and forfeiture proceedings against Aman Futures founder Manuel Amalilio.

Salazar will be joined by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III, State Counsels Mildred Bernadette Alvor and Maria Laureen Suan, and Prosecution Attorneys Gail Stephanie Maderazo and Mark Roland Estepa.

The order signed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last February 19 stated that the team should report to her the outcome of the initial talks with Malaysian authorities within five days after the trip.

Amalilio, who is wanted for multi-million peso syndicated estafa cases before a Pagadian court, is still in hospital detention in Kota Kinabalu following a two-year sentence for possession of fake Philippine passport.

On February 6, Malaysian Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail agreed to freeze Amalilio's assets during a meeting with Salazar and other Filipino officials.

Covered by the freeze order are Amalilio’s company shares, stocks, and land assets, among others.

The Department of Justice, however, has yet to get an estimate worth of these assets that can be used to repay thousands of investors duped by Aman’s double-your-money scheme in Visayas and Mindanao. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)