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Thursday, February 05, 2004
Accountant denies signing Perdido Lex paper
CEBU CITY -- The accountant who supposedly certified the financial statements of Perdido Lex Foundation Inc. disowned the signature that appears on the papers.
But National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Head Agent Renato Mandawe said he will not rely on the verbal statement that accountant Gerardo Perral gave during their meeting last Friday.
Mandawe is waiting for Perral to execute an affidavit, which the accountant is expected to do on Thursday with his lawyer.
As the possible forgery was raised against Perdido Lex, Sun.Star also noticed several types of signatures that appear above Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeņa's name in several documents regarding the transaction.
Earlier, at least two high-ranking officials and a Capitol clerk pointed to Osmeņa's chief of staff, Willie Mulla, as having facilitated the transaction.
Mulla and Joebert Cuesta, both of the vice governor's office, are scheduled to appear before the NBI 7 today.
NBI will summon the vice governor to submit a sworn statement on Monday about Perdido Lex, said Mandawe.
Get it back
Gov. Pablo Garcia, in his press conference Wednesday, assured he will act in behalf of the Province so the amount released to Perdido Lex will be recovered after the investigation.
Perdido Lex got more than P4 million from Capitol and P270,000 from Barili for its "Touch Young Minds" computerization program.
The foundation, however, failed to liquidate the money, which came from Osmeņa's discretionary funds. Osmeņa has denied any involvement.
Perdido's incorporators could not be traced, except for the one living in Osmeņa's condominium. None of them has come out to shed light on the issue. The number listed as the foundation's contact number is that of the vice governor's office.
Mulla, who reportedly appeared for Perdido Lex in Barili and followed up its accreditation at the Provincial Board, has said he could no longer remember.
"Ang kuyaw ani ug hastang vice governor nakalimot pud (Let's hope the vice governor hasn't forgotten as well)," said Garcia.
Mandawe said Wednesday that he showed Perral copies of the financial statements bearing his name that the foundation submitted, but Perral said the signatures were not his.
"I want him to put that on record," said Mandawe.
Paper trail
Sun.Star has noted different handwriting strokes on the space for Osmeņa's signature in Perdido Lex's papers.
Those that merely noted or accepted reports and letters from the non-existent company that Perdido Lex commissioned for its computerization program are similar.
A letter to Provincial Accountant Marieto Ypil, however, showed another style of handwriting. A different signature also appears in a letter to Milagros Herera, president of the foundation, a copy of which was furnished to two Capitol departments.
Apart from the NBI and the anti-graft office, the Commission on Audit has also asked Capitol's fiscal administrators to explain the release of public funds, when it was apparent that Perdido Lex did not have the financial capability and several other requirements.
The Provincial Board has also tasked two of its committees to look into Perdido Lex, as well as all other nongovernment groups that received money from Capitol.
Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeņa has said the governor should be held responsible for everything that's going on at Capitol, but Garcia Wednesday retorted that Osmeņa is expected to rally behind his son.
Garcia also pointed out that Sonny is not aware of accounting processes at Capitol. JPM/GC/With AIV of Sun.Star Cebu
(February 5, 2004 issue)
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