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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Estrada-owned firms mentioned in assets statement: lawyer
THE nine supposedly undeclared companies in the 1998 statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN) of deposed President Joseph Estrada were already included in the P15.3 million "investments" that the former leader has declared in the same document.
This was how former senator and lawyer Rene Saguisag, one of the counsels for Estrada, defended his client on allegations that he committed perjury when he failed not to specify the companies in question in his SALN.
Saguisag, during Wednesday's hearing at the Sandiganbayan Special Division, proposed to the government prosecution panel the withdrawal instead of the perjury case filed against Estrada to avoid embarrassment of losing the case because of the fact that it has no basis.
Aside from the plunder case filed against Estrada, state prosecutors have accused him of perjury for falsely declaring his acquired wealth in 1998.
The prosecution said the former leader has failed to declare First LPL Land Syndication Inc.; Asis Garments Inc.; 24K Foods Inc.; Prime Entertainment Productions Inc.; Alpha Funds, Inc.; Sentry Electronics Inc.; Felt Food Services Inc.; All Hot Soup Inc.; and ADE Foods Inc. in the heading for "business interests".
Under his 1998 SALN, the former President declared that he had only P38 million worth of assets, including P5 million cash on hand and in bank, and business interests in only three companies - JELP Real Estate Development Corp., JE, Inc., and Feluisa Development Corp.
Prosecutors presented bank records showing Estrada had P44.2 million deposits in Keppel Bank, P548,000 in Asia United Bank and P12.3 million in Security Bank.
Estrada, when he testified last month before the Special Division said the deposits with Keppel Bank and Security Bank were contributions to Pwersa ng Masa party that were deposited in accounts under his name.
With regard the corporations, Saguisag said Estrada did not see any need to specify those in his SAL because the companies were no longer operational anyway and that his shares in those were declared in another entry as "investments".
During the trial also, Saguisag called back to the witness stand Lorna Dumlao, head of the Social Security System (SSS) membership section, who testified that First LPL Land Syndication, Inc. and Alpha Funds Inc. were recorded to have "temporarily suspended" employer contributions since April 1, 1992 and May 15, 1997, respectively.
Chief Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio, for his part, said the SSS or Dumlao for that matter was not the appropriate witness to testify on the corporate status of a company but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Villa-Ignacio presented records of the SEC that the nine companies in question were deemed technically in existence as of 1998 in view of the absence of documents for their dissolution.
The prosecutor maintained that the former President falsely declared his SALN in 1998.
At the same time, the chief prosecutor claimed that the defense should have terminated their presentation of evidence after Estrada ended his testimony last month if they are convinced he was innocent and Estrada would be acquitted of the charges of perjury and plunder.
"Apparently, they're so afraid to complete the presentation because they know fully well that the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to convict their client," Villa-Ignacio told reporters.
But Saguisag blamed the prosecution for contesting the court's denial of its request to allow a video presentation showing Estrada signing a document, said to be providing for sovereign guarantee for a multibillion-peso power project in Laguna.
He challenged the prosecution to elevate the matter to the Supreme Court (SC) should the Sandiganbayan rule out the prosecution's appeal for reconsideration. (DBP/Sunnex)
(July 27, 2006 issue)
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