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Founded in 1986
Founding Publisher/Editor:
Lito A. Gajilan
Columnists:
Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel
Joseph G. Lariosa
Gani P. Tolentino
Ted L. Reyes
Atty. Reuben S. Seguritan
Photographers:
Butch Gata
Sheryl Garcia
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher
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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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(Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For further information, you may call him at 212 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com)
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"Mere denial by an accused, particularly when not properly corroborated or substantiated by clear and convincing evidence, cannot prevail over the testimony of credible witnesses who testify on affirmative matters. Denial, being in the nature of negative and self-serving evidence, is seldom given weight in law. Positive and forthright declarations of witnesses are often held to be worthier of credence than the self-serving denial of the accused."
Quoting a previous ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court in People v. Quilang, the Sandiganbayan set aside the blanket denial of former President Estrada of committing the newly-minted crime of Plunder by convicting Mr. Estrada to a life in prison for amassing wealth at the expense of the Filipino people.
However in the 189-page decision that implemented for the first time the Marcosian crime of plunder in the Philippines that joined such "terminologies like kleptocracy and economic treason" in the books, the law still leaves much to be desired.
For instance, after proving beyond reasonable doubt that former President Joseph E. Estrada and Jose Velarde are one and the same, why did the three-justice panel left untouched the more than three billion pesos Jose Velarde Account?
WHO GETS THE BILLIONS?
Because the prosecution cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that the balance of three billion pesos (US$74-million) in the Jose Velarde Account came from illegal sources, the Sandiganbayan Justices composed of Presiding Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro and Associate Justices Francisco H. Villaruz, Jr. and Diosdado M. Peralta did not make any ruling if the government can confiscate it or let former President Estrada collect it.
The ruling based on Republic Act No. 7080, also known as the Anti-Plunder Law, sentenced Mr. Estrada to suffer a life in prison (40 years) after finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of plunder and acquitted Estrada's son, Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and Estrada's presidential assistant, Edward S. Serapio, when the prosecution failed to prove and establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of plunder.
The former president will be credited for the period of his detention during the last six years.
FORFEITED MILLIONS
The ruling also declared the forfeiture in favor of the government the 545,291,000 pesos (US$12-million) with interest and income earned from the collection of gambling (jueteng) protection money collected from November 1998 to August 2000 when Estrada was the president.
Part of this jueteng collection is the 200,000,000 pesos (US$444,444.00) that ended up in the bank account of Erap Muslim Youth Foundation. Also forfeited in favor of the government is the 189,000,000.00 pesos (US$420,000.00), including interests and income earned, deposited in the Jose Velarde account; and the "Boracay Mansion" located at 100 11th St., New Manila, Quezon City. Cash bonds posted by Senator Estrada and Atty. Serapio are cancelled and released to them and their hold-departure orders are recalled and declared "funtus oficio".
Based on my reading of the decision, if there is a "whistle-blower" law that is in place in the Philippine jurisprudence, both the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President Mr. Federico Pascual and the Social Security System (SSS) President Carlos Arellano, who testified in court that they bought 1,102,965,607.50 pesos (US$24,510,346.00) and 784,551,150 pesos (US$17,434,470.00) shares of stock at Belle Corporation, respectively, on instructions of President Estrada, without knowing that Mr. Estrada was going to collect 10 percent commission from the transactions amounting to 189,700,000 pesos (US$4,215,555.00), deserve "whistle-blowing" percentage from the money confiscated by the government.
PAPER TRAIL TO VELARDE ACCOUNT
The 189,700,000 pesos check was the paper trail that led to the Jose Velarde Account. According to the court, if James Dichaves was the owner of the Velarde account, why did Mr. Dichaves "not deposit the 189,700,000 pesos check directly to the Jose Velarde account? If Dichaves owned the Velarde account, why did he take the circuitous route of depositing the International Exchange Bank check into his Far East Bank Savings Account, then auto transfer the amount to his Current Account, then issue his personal check payable to cash for the 189,700,000.00 pesos which was ultimately deposited to the Jose Velarde Account?"
"The only logical conclusion," the court said, "is that Dichaves did not want evidence to show that the International Exchange Bank check of Eastern Securities Corporation was deposited to the Jose Velarde Account because such deposit would confirm that FPres. Estrada, once proven to own the Jose Velarde Account, received the 189,700,000.00 pesos commission arising from the purchase by SSS and GSIS of Belle Shares."
The court added, "(f)rom the foregoing, the ineluctable conclusion is that the so-called internal arrangement which allegedly prompted FPres. Estrada to sign the various documents presented to him by Clarissa Ocampo is a futile attempt to escape the consequence of his admission that he signed as Jose Velarde which leads to the legal and indisputable conclusion that FPres. Estrada is the owner of the Jose Velarde Accounts."
The 187,900,000.00 pesos in commissions that Estrada received "are public funds which came from the proceeds of the sale received by SSI Management through Eastern Securities from GSIS and SSS." The "millions of GSIS and SSS members who were deprived of the use of such funds and worse, who now stand to suffer the loss amount to millions of pesos since the Belle shares are presently priced less than their acquisition cost. [From an average price of 3.14 pesos per share to 0.69 pesos per share as of Dec. 29, 2000 and between 0.40 pesos to 0.50 pesos per shares as of Feb. 11, 2002]."
WHISTLE-BLOWERS AWARDEES?
If Messrs. Pascual and Arellano get "whistle-blower commissions," it will follow that Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson of Ilocos Sur likewise should stand to gain for collecting 545,000,000 pesos (US$12,111,111) although he "did not have the purest of motives in exposing the jueteng collections."
The court said the jueteng checks paid by Chavit Singson landed in the accounts of persons associated with FPres. Estrada, namely, the 5-million pesos for Paul Gary Bogard; the 8-M pesos for Mrs. Luisa P. Ejercito; 46.3-M pesos for William Gatchalian; and 1.2-M pesos for Laarni Enriquez.
If the jueteng collections and the Belle Shares comprise less than 15 percent of the 4-billion pesos deposit in the Velarde Account, where did the rest of the unexplained deposits come from? My guess is that the bulk of them came from "political contributions." It's about time, Philippine Congress passed a law regulating political contributions in the Philippines, aside from enacting a "whistle-blower" law.
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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"No. Groucho is not my real name," dead-panned the mustached brother of Marx comedians Moe and Harpo. "I'm just breaking it in for a friend."
Unlike Groucho, ex-president Joseph Estrada didn't merely break in the name of "Jose Velarde" for cronies, the anti-graft court said. He masqueraded as Jose Velarde - and profited handsomely in the charade. So much so, the Sandiganbayan saw fit to jail Erap for life for plunder.
"Estrada was the real and beneficial owner" of Velarde's accounts, i.e. Equitable PCIBank accounts combo account C/A No. 0110-25495-4 and S/A No. 0160-62501-5, the court declared. And it started with a one peso deposit, put down by crony Jaime Dichavez. Since Esda Two, Dichavez fled without leaving a forwarding address.
"Estrada admitted he signed as Jose Velarde in documents presented to him by ( bank officer ) Clarissa Ocampo," the court observed. "He and Jose Velarde are one and the same person ....
At it's peak, Velarde account balances swelled to over P3,233,104.173.17. But panicked withdrawals, during the impeachment trial, drained them. The court ordered that the "loose change" left - P189.7 million -- be forfeited to government.
Minutes after Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro ended the 35-minute verdict promulgation, the court posted, on it's webpage ( http://sandigan.supremecourt.gov.ph), the full decision. Access is now just the click of a computer mouse away.
The decision ends the mystery that tantalized people: Who was "Jose Velarde"? Not me, said Estrada earlier. He later flip-flopped to say: Sure, he signed with a name other than his own. But that was "guarantee" a half-billion bucks loan to accommodate crony William Gatchalian. Greater love than this no man hath than to lay down his name for a friend.
A name, the dictionary tells us, is a word or phrase that "constitutes the distinctive designation of a place or thing." But "what's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet", Juliet fretted over Romeo's family name. In Shakespeare's 1595 tragedy, ovarian lottery left the "ill-starred lovers" in opposite feuding camps of the Montagues and Capulets.
Others bicker over names of places they lodge in: from gilded gated enclave to crummy squatter relocation areas. "We go to gain a patch of ground/ That hath no profit in it but a name", Hamlet groused from his dank castle.
Names can be lucrative, as the paper trail tracked by the court in the Velarde accounts show. Joseph Estrada's personal secretary, Lucena "Baby" Ortaliza alone deposited almost one billion pesos" for the shadowy Jose Velarde. From Urban Bank Special Trust Account No. 858, Jose Victor Ejercito funneled at least P182 million also to this pool.
JV today is busy denouncing the anti-graft court for convicting dear old dad. When he catches his breath, he should explain, to government tax agencies, where he scraped up that boodle? Did he ever jot that down in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities? Ms Ortaliza should do likewise. But then, "there are more things in heaven and on earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Indeed, as "bank documents show, without doubt, that the "Boracay Mansion" was purchased by money withdrawn from "Jose Velarde's current account No. 0110-25495-4, in Equitable PCIBank in the amount of P142 million." .Evidence turned up, during ocular inspection, pointed to "Joseph Estrada as the beneficial and actual owner of the 'Boracay Mansion'."
Few will recall now that, on December 4, 2000, then Rep. Joker Arroyo delivered the opening statement for the prosecution at the impeachment trial. He cited the 'Boracay Mansion' as one reason why "the House impeached Estrada and the Senate should convict him. We can not have a country run by a thief."
Estrada bought this New Manila property for P86 million, in 1999, when his net worth, his Statement of Assets & Liabilities claimed was only P35 million?, "Where did the money come from?," Arroyo asked.
"Massive and expansive renovations were undertaken -including a unique swimming pool with white sand. Architectural plans for rooms on the second floor indicate the names of his children by Laarni Enriquez: Jacob, Jake, Jerica. They all have their footprints there."
The court agreed with Prosecutor Joker Arroyo. It ordered "the real property consisting of a house and lot dubbed as 'Boracay Mansion' located at #100 11th Street, New Manila, Quezon City."
People will learn at no other school except that of example. By documenting the pillage and ordering penalties, the Sandiganbayan has reiterated standards of governance that battalions of crooks have ignored with impunity.
There's been the predictable carping. Erap's former executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora sneers "the decision is not worth the paper it is written on." Movie kabarkada, like A. Siguion Reyna, whine the money swiped was not public funds. This is "halitosis of the intellect".
The decision stands. It indicts an opposition for anointing, as their leader, one who has been shown up as morally bankrupt. It warns the incumbent President, as well as those who will come after her: like stewards, all must render an accounting. "To who much given, much is expected." ####
(E-mail:juan_mercado@pacific.net)
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PHILIPPINES: Cuba of the future
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Me and you? Ashamed of being a Filipino? No, it will never happen. Or will it?
30 year down the road, the Philippines will probably be so poverty stricken that it may be compared to Cuba. But being poverty stricken is not enough reason for Filipinos to be ashamed of their nationality. But when on top of groveling in poverty, when the people are at the same time deprived of human rights, then yes, the Filipinos will be deprived of national dignity. They could be ashamed of being identified as a Filipino.
Fidel Castro is now a doddering old dictator. His brother Raul is reported to have assumed his duties as head of the country. Cubans want to leave Cuba to escape poverty and the dictatorship. Because of its proximity to the US, they brave the seas to sail fragile man-made boats or practically risk drowning to escape their country. They risk the bullets of Castro's border guards.
Filipino jobseekers beg, borrow or steal to be able to pay bribes and to buy a plane ticket to be able to leave the country to seek livelihood in any other country where they will be accepted to enable their families to escape hunger and poverty. It's true they still enjoy freedom to relocate but such freedom is restrained by lack of means imposed by the widening gap between the haves who are the small minority and the have-nots who comprise the suffering great majority, They are restrained by this existing caste separating the two social classes.
Because it's a communist country, Cuba lacks foreign investors and this has hastened the country's economic deterioration. This has kept the country's standard of living low. Its poor economic condition plus the restriction of human rights have deprived Cubans of their national pride.
The nadir of the Philippine national pride happened during the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. At that time economic suffering combined with absence of democratic freedom made Filipinos ashamed of their country. Their national shame reached such a low that the people was insultingly described as a nation of one dictator and 40 million (population at that time) cowards.
At present, the Philippines' descent to utter poverty is slowed by the systemic corruption that thrives at all levels of the bureaucracy and society, which makes possible disappearing pockets of prosperity. But the slide is going on. Slowly it is rotting the social structures and institutions and ultimately cause widespread breakdown of existing institutions. Right now, visions of normalcy are seen in the remaining social strata of the heaves. But the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to increase. Those lucky enough to slip through the cracks leave the country to seek their livelihood elsewhere. But for the most part, they are already lost to the country and given the opportunity, will make their permanent homes outside.
The increasing military incursions against human rights are the danger signs. How many Filipinos who are political activists have disappeared without a trace. These are the little people. On a higher level, the most recent example is no less than former President Estrada. Jailed for over six years, he was tried for plunder. His defense counsels kept boasting that the prosecutors throughout the trial have consistently failed to prove the cases filed against him. Then finally, he was convicted for plunder.
Congressman Ronnie Zamora commented that the decision of the Sandiganbayan against Estrada was not worth the paper on which it was written. Are we still proud to be a Filipino?
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Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 26 years, and is an active member of the State Bar of California and New York, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has always excelled in school:
Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California.
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you:
LOS ANGELES:
219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203
Telephone: (818) 543-5800
SAN FRANCISCO:
966 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 Telephone: (415) 538-7800
NEW YORK:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300
PHILIPPINES:
Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227
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