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Saturday, November 06, 2004
P5M shabu money 'stashed' in bank
By Allan I. Varquez With Garry Cabotaje and Aledel Gonzalez-Cuizon
CEBU CITY -- The man suspected of financing two shabu laboratories in Mandaue City opened a P5-million account in a Cebu bank, but used a different name, Rep. Antonio Cuenco said Friday.
Proof that the money came from Calvin de Jesus Tan was among the documents seized when Tan was arrested in Hong Kong, Cuenco added.
The reported account forms part of the evidence Philippine authorities hold against Tan, who will face trial on a separate case of drug possession in Hong Kong on Nov. 22.
Cuenco (Cebu City, south) said Tan gave the money to Joseph Yu, who in turn deposited it in the Allied Bank branch in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
The congressman added that Yu, one of 11 men arrested for allegedly operating two shabu laboratories in Mandaue City, admitted the transaction in a conversation with him and Rep. Roque Ablan.
The House committee on dangerous drugs, which Ablan heads, will decide Monday whether to investigate, in aid of legislation, how the labs operated right under the noses of local government and police officials.
Meanwhile, the probe on six Mandaue City Hall officials for their alleged failure to inspect a warehouse used as a shabu laboratory has yet to wrap up, a month after Mayor Thadeo Ouano ordered it.
Acting City Legal Officer Erwin Rommel Heyrosa said that after the six officials submitted their written explanations, he and internal audit officer Josefina Perez interviewed each official for details.
If there are lapses on the part of any official, Civil Service rules will be applied, said Heyrosa.
Heyrosa and Perez already have the written explanations of City Engineer Ceferino Englis, City Administrator Serafin Blanco, City Treasurer Lorna Atega, City Health Officer Oscar Quirante and City Planning Officer Delia Rodrigo.
Heyrosa and Perez's report will be submitted to Ouano for approval next week.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has ordered the Anti-Money Laundering Council to look into reports about Tan's supposed P5-million account.
The move is part of the Department of Justice's effort to freeze Tan's assets in the country. Tan has been described as the Hong Kong-based contact of the 11 men arrested in Cebu.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 also found out that Yu issued 12 Allied Bank Gorordo branch checks, worth P18,500 each, as one year's rent for a warehouse in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City.
Authorities said the 200-square-meter warehouse, owned by businessman Reynaldo Tacder, could have been used as a storage facility for ready-to-use shabu from the laboratory in Umapad.
An Allied Bank official, however, said the account that Cuenco mentioned is not with the bank.
"We have no depositor by that name," the official, who asked not to be named, told Sun.Star Friday.
Apart from the documents on the bank account, Cuenco said Tan's Bureau of Immigration records detailing his trips to the Philippines will be presented against him.
Tan pleaded not guilty in his arraignment in Hong Kong, contrary to expectations.
Cuenco said the authorities expected Tan to plead guilty so he can serve a light penalty, but opted to go to trial instead so he can avoid being brought to the Philippines.
"Obviously, to avoid extradition, he changed his mind," Cuenco told reporters at his residence Friday afternoon. He gave Tan's seized documents to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7 Chief Amado Marquez for safekeeping.
Tan was denied bail because of the Philippine Government's extradition petition.
If convicted, he is likely to get a jail term of not more than six months in Hong Kong. Afterwards, said Cuenco, "we can have him."
(November 6, 2004 issue)
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