Saturday, June 21, 2008 Sandigan told to junk firm's plea on 'Jose Velarde' account
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has asked the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the ownership claim of Wellex Group Inc. over the P1.1 billion contained in the infamous "Jose Velarde" account in Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO).
In a memorandum it filed with the anti-graft court last Thursday, the BIR said the group of businessman William Gatchalian has no legal personality to intervene in the government's bid to recover the Jose Velarde assets believed to be owned by former President Joseph Estrada.
The tax collecting agency pointed out that Wellex is not a taxpayer in the Writ of Constructive Distraint or freeze order it issued against the questioned assets in 2001 on the assumption that they form part of the "undeclared income" of Estrada and his wife, former senator Luisa "Loi" Estrada.
The BIR is trying to recover about P1.82 billion from the Estrada couple, representing their "deficiency income taxes" for the year 1999.
More than seven years have passed since the freeze order was issued against the assets and the plunder case against the former President had already been decided, the BIR told the Sandiganbayan that the Jose Velarde account is "still under investigation" by its National Investigation Division (NID).
The revenue office maintained that the freeze order continues to have force and effect until the ongoing NID investigation is finally terminated.
"Moreover, the constructive distraint may only be extinguished until full amount is collected," it added.
"The assessment for the Jose Velarde account is still under investigation. Pending the conclusion of the investigation and collection of the assessed deficiency taxes on income, the constructive distraint remains in effect," said the BIR.
Earlier, the Wellex Group told the anti-graft court that it is interested in retrieving the shares it used as collateral to the P500-million loan it obtained from the owner of the account.
The loan was extended by BDO (formerly Equitable PCI Bank), acting as the investment manager of Investment Management Account number 1001-78056-1 in the name of Jose Velarde, to the Wellex Group in 2000.
The Wellex Group claimed it has already paid the account owner the principal of the loan, although interest payments stopped at some point in time.
But the BDO, in a pleading filed with the Sandiganbayan early this month, said it has not received any payment from the Wellex Group on the principal of its loan drawn from the Jose Velarde account.
The claim of the Wellex Group and the 2001 BIR freeze order against the assets also prompted the BDO to seek guidance from the court on how to dispose of the contents of the account.
In its September 12, 2007 decision convicting Mr. Estrada of plunder, the anti-graft court's Special Division declared former President Estrada as the "personal and beneficial owner" of the account.
Mr. Estrada, however, has maintained that the account belonged to businessman Jaime Dichaves, one of his co-accused in the plunder case who has remained at large.
The ousted leader also told the government that he would not block any effort to forfeit the Jose Velarde assets because they did not belong to him. (Sunnex)
