TWO executives of a Cebu-based construction company will be facing trial for allegedly falsifying public documents to enable themselves to take out a loan from a bank.
A warrant of arrest was issued on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, against Thaddeo Samson D. Cerna and engineer Reeve Jumawan for allegedly forging their former client’s signature for them to obtain a loan from a bank. Cerna is the president of Frilou Builders Asia and Trading Corp., while Jumawan is the company’s vice president.
The offense, though, is bailable.
Jonathan Saromines, presiding judge of Cebu City Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 8, set the bail at P36,000 for each respondent.
The complaint was filed by Frilou Builders’ former client, Edward Vincent G. Onglatco, president of Hyundai Cebu Inc. and Hyundai Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Inc.
Onglatco said in his affidavit that Hyundai Cebu learned that Frilou Builders had obtained a loan from a development bank through a tripartite agreement by fabricating his signature and the participation of Hyundai Cebu in the agreement. A tripartite or tri-party agreement is a legal contract that three different parties enter into.
The agreement, which Onglatco said he did not know about, was between both parties and the Wealth Development Bank Corp. or Wealth Bank.
Lawyers of Onglatco filed a complaint against Cerna and Jumawan before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office on July 5, 2021.
The complaint narrates how Frilou Builders failed to perform its deliverables in a signed construction contract between Hyundai Cebu and Frilou Builders, months prior to the alleged forgery.
Hired as contractor
Frilou Builders was hired by Hyundai CDO to build two separate showrooms that were supposed to be erected in Cagayan de Oro City and Butuan City in 2018. Hyundai Cebu owns 57.10 percent of Hyundai CDO’s outstanding office. Thus, Hyundai CDO maintains its head office at Hyundai Cebu’s principal office.
Hyundai CDO paid a total of P22.47 million to Frilou Builders for the construction of a showroom and service center in Barangay Baan in Butuan City. The payments were done on a staggered basis on June 22, 2018, Aug. 2, 2019, Oct. 16, 2019, and Oct. 31, 2019.
Similarly, Hyundai CDO again signed with Frilou Builders for the creation of a separate trucks and bus showroom in Cagayan de Oro City. The company paid P6.15 million to Frilou Builders as a 30 percent down payment for the project on June 22, 2018.
Due to inadequate response and non-performance of Frilou Builders of its obligations, Hyundai Cebu decided to cancel both Butuan and CDO projects, Onglatco said.
One of the reasons why the construction could not progress was Frilou Builders’ failure to secure building permits, according to Onglatco.
Frilou Builders, through Cerna and Jumawan, attempted to sort things out by sending letters, including one on November 5, 2020, wherein Hyundai Cebu received a letter titled “Commitment Schedule” that stated the company would finish the project by July 30, 2021.
On Nov. 13, 2020, Hyundai Cebu received another email, this time from Jumawan. He informed the company that Frilou Builders would complete all necessary permits and licenses in the first week of December 2020.
Onglatco none of the promises was fulfilled, and they therefore demanded the termination of the project and the refund of payments made for both projects.
On Jan. 6, 2021, respondent Jumawan sent them an email stating his “honest evaluation of the latest progress at both [CDO and Butuan projects].” According to him, only 19.55 percent of the Butuan project was completed, and for the CDO project, no substantial progress had been made.
Hyundai Cebu sent a final demand against Frilou Builders on Feb. 1, 2021, requiring the construction company to return the payment, which was set at P23,080,429.88.
Hyundai said on March 24, 2021, that they had received P500,000 as partial settlement from Frilou Builders of its outstanding debt, and no additional amount had been paid as of the execution of the complaint-affidavit on July 5, 2021.
Notification of falsification
In the affidavit, Hyundai Cebu’s chief administrative officer, Cherie Lou Zshornack, received a call on May 4, 2021, from Deogracias Ramos Jr. of Wealth Bank, notifying the company about a certain tripartite agreement.
“Shockingly, the Tripartite Agreement falsely makes it appear that I signed on behalf of Hyundai Cebu,” said Onglatco in his affidavit.
“Neither I nor anyone from Hyundai Cebu or Hyundai CDO knew about the loan actually obtained by Frilou Builders from Wealth Bank,” he added.
The agreement states that Frilou Builders is entitled to receivables from Hyundai Cebu arising from the Butuan and CDO projects.
In the second clause of the agreement, it provides that in the event Frilou Builders fails to pay the principal amount of the loan and interest due according to the payment schedule, Hyundai Cebu agrees to directly pay Wealth Bank the receivables of Frilou Builders to satisfy the latter’s outstanding loan obligation.
“I was left perplexed not only because I never signed the Tripartite Agreement but also because Frilou Builders was not entitled to any ‘receivables’ from the Hyundai group at the time the Tripartite Agreement was purportedly executed,” he said.
“To recall, Hyundai CDO had already canceled the Butuan Project and the CDO project due to Frilou Builders’ substantial delay and failure to comply with its obligations, as previously mentioned. In fact, the Hyundai group had been demanding Frilou Builders to return its payments on the two projects,” he added.
Onglatco, however, did not specify in the complaint-affidavit the amount the other party borrowed from Wealth Bank.
Danessa Onglatco, wife of Edward Onglatco, took to social media to express her support for her husband.
“I witnessed everything he went through, and it was heartbreaking to see him suffer in silence. As his wife, I had to stand and fight beside him to ensure that justice is served,” she said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
“This is not just a fight for my husband but also for the next victims who may fall prey to the fraudulent practices of these individuals,” she added.
SunStar Cebu tried to get the statements of Cerna and Jumawan on Thursday, April 19, but to no avail.
SunStar Cebu called the phone number listed under Frilou Builders in the Yellow Pages Philippines on Thursday, but it was told that it dialled the wrong number after mentioning the construction company’s name.
“Hindi, Sir! Wrong number ka (This is not the company, Sir. You got the wrong number),” the person on the other end of the line said before disconnecting the call.
As of this writing, the construction company’s office on Juana Osmeña Street in Cebu City is currently tagged as temporarily closed on Google Maps.