Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Mangio posts bail By Marna H. Dagumboy
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Clark International Airport Corporation (Ciac) chairman Nestor Mangio on Monday posted a bail bond amounting to P200,000 for the five counts of estafa filed against him and his wife by a former board member.
At 9:30 a.m. Monday, Mangio, along with his lawyers, posted a bail bond for their provisional liberty at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 48 here.
In a statement, Mangio said a case against him and his wife Marion was filed in court, but his lawyer Robel Lomibao advised him not to discuss the details of the case.
He claimed that he and his wife were "innocent" and willing to prove it in court or in the Department of Justice (DOJ), where the petition for review is still pending.
"In line with this, we voluntarily surrendered to the court today (Monday) and posted the necessary bail. We firmly believe that this case is simply an extortion and the allegations are untrue," Mangio stressed.
The Ciac chief is also contemplating to file necessary counter-charges in court.
On April 21, the RTC issued a warrant of arrest against Mangio and his wife in connection with five counts of estafa filed against them by former board member Robert David.
The order stemmed from the five counts of estafa and falsification of public documents (Criminal Case No. 15807-15811) filed by David against the couple.
Mangio earlier asserted in court that they "are not liable for estafa, as the very purpose why David had in his possession the owner's duplicate of the foregoing titles is that the former board member had earlier mortgage the parcels of land to us in settlement for the amounts he had earlier obtained from and failed to pay to us."
He said the signature of David "is genuine as can be gleaned from the vouchers issued to him by us."
He also stressed that his wife Marion "has no other participation in the transactions subject of the investigation other than her marital signature in the Deeds of Absolute Sale."
However, David filed five counts of estafa and falsification of public documents against the Mangios for allegedly causing the fraudulent cancellation of five land titles, which he earlier entrusted to the couple for verification with the Register of Deeds.
David cited that the couple allegedly forged his signature and "made an untruthful statement in the falsified Deeds of Absolute Sale."
On November 7, 2003, David left for the United States. Before he left, he entrusted to Mangio the owner's duplicate copies of the land titles.
Upon his return to the Philippines on March 11, 2006, David allegedly discovered that the "respondents succeeded in having the said titles canceled and new ones issued in the names of the couple on February 19, 2004.
David said he "could not have executed or signed any of the said falsified Deeds of Absolute Sale on February 2, 2004, much less in San Fernando or appeared before a notary public Cresente Caladiao," for he was in the US then.
He said the affixed signature is not his real signature.
