The Philippine Online Chronicles

After more than 24 years since the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) filed a P50 billion damage suit against the late Ferdinand Marcos and other former officials, the second division of the Sandiganbayan dismissed the case on grounds of insufficient evidence.

Associate Justice Samuel Martires of the anti-graft court penned the 69-page decision which said that government lawyers were not able to prove that Marcos, former First Lady and present Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin, former Armed Forces chief-of-staff Fabian Ver and 18 other defendants received protection money from the so-called Binondo Central Bank, a black market dollar trading operation said to be run by Filipino and Chinese businessmen from 1984 to 1986.

“There is no evidence to prove that these defendants received money by way of kickbacks, commission, gifts or percentage from the capitalists of the Binondo Central Bank. Indeed, plaintiff Republic failed to present evidence to prove its claims,” the decision stated.

Because of the decision, the court ordered the cancellation of sequestration orders pertaining to properties allegedly connected to the case.

The case was first filed on July 23, 1987. It alleged that Marcos and the other officials conspired with the operator-financier agents of the Binondo Central Bank.

PCGG had accused the respondents of “misappropriation and theft of public funds, plunder of the nation’s wealth, extortion, blackmail, bribery, embezzlement and other acts of corruption, betrayal of public trust, and brazen abuse of power, at the expense and to the grave and irreparable damage of plaintiff and the Filipino people.”

The joint venture was supposedly entitled to $500,000 in government equities but PCGG alleged that Ongpin used public resources amounting to $10,640,000 instead.

Included in the case were Ver’s children Irwin, Rexor, Wyrlo, Helma Ver-Tuason and Faida Ver-Resureccion.

Other defendants include former Presidential Security Command legal officer Balbino San Diego, lawyer Arturo Pacificador, businessmen and Binondo Central Bank members Jimmy Chua a.k.a. Chua Hang, Go Pok a.k.a. Tan Guat, Catalino Coo, Raffy Chua, Peter Uy, Benito Peñalosa a.k.a. Chua Se Tat, Yao So a.k.a. Sio Lim, and Wilson Chua a.k.a. Chua Tiong Kian.

The case accused the defendants as being organizers, partners, capitalists and couriers of the Binondo Central Bank, but the anti-graft court said, “How the defendants Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda Marcos, Fabian Ver, Roberto Ongpin and Vinnie James Yu ‘abused their power to enrich themselves’ by reason of the joint venture with Triad Holding Corp., the complaint does not show.”

It added, “A mere allegation is not enough. It must be supported by proof, otherwise it will just remain a story. In fact, there is not a single allegation in the complaint as regards the participation of defendant Fabian Ver in the investment made by the Philippine government with Triad Asia Ltd.”