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For the past 21 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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CHICAGO – A Filipino American employee of a credit card company was sentenced last Friday, Feb. 29, to spend 33 months in federal prison for “fraudulently” authorizing loans in excess of $15-M.
David Villongco, 51, is one of those involved in a phony scheme to defraud the US Export Import Bank of millions of dollars in goods being purportedly exported from the United States to the Philippines. Villongco was also ordered by Judge Richard W. Roberts of the United States District of Columbia placed under a three-year supervised release and to pay a restitution of $14,000 for his “low-level” role in the scam.
As soon as Villongco’s employer, Visa, a credit card company, got wind of the transaction, Mr. Villongco was “fired from his job,” according to court documents obtained by this reporter.
While employed fulltime with Visa, Villongco was working for a business called “PBJ Venture International Corporation” where he “signed off on documents that caused the Ex-Im Bank to fraudulently authorize loans in excess of $15,000,000.” He was the co-owner and general manager of the San Mateo, California trading firm.
For his effort, he was paid $150,000 or one percent of the loan, which he had since returned after pleading guilty to “one-count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and one count of mail fraud.”
In an 11-page sentencing memorandum submitted by his lawyer, Steven F. Gruel, it was disclosed that Villongco was approached by his brother-in-law, Jose Tirona, 54, believed to be from Cavite in the Philippines, in 1990 “to help open PBJ, which was to serve as a buying office for Tirona’s Philippine’s trading company. For eight years the business operated and sent goods to the Philippines. In January 2000, PBJ was dormant because business had completely ended. However, in 2001, Tirona approached David to start the business again.
“It was during this time, at the direction of his brother-in- law, but fully understanding what he was doing, that Mr. Villongco began to assist in the fraud scheme by signing false documents.”
When authorities learned of the fraud, Tirona and the mastermind, Nelson Ti told Villongco to tell a lie to cover up the fraud and mislead federal investigators. Ashamed of his actions, Villongco admitted responsibility and began to assist investigators. Tirona fled to the Philippines while Ti remained in the Philippines.
Villongco is the third member of the 10-member fraud syndicate who was so far sentenced. The syndicate was believed to have gypped the US Ex-Im Bank $80-M.
Roberto Delgado, 46, owner of Global Resources Group (GRG) based in Fremont California, was sentenced to two years in jail last Oct. 5, 2007 for making off $100,000 out of the $2.1-M fraudulent loan.
While Jaime Galvez, 51, owner and president of J.G. International Freight Corporation, was sentenced to “12 months and one day” in prison last Dec. 20, 2007.
Daniel Curran, 52, owner and president of Dankim Trading, who kept $400,000 after taking out a $24-M loan, is up for sentencing on April 3, 2008 while Edward Chua, 55, who took $300,000 out of the $10-M loan proceeds, is scheduled for sentencing on April 11, 2008.
Christina “Christy” Song, owner and employee of V&C Trading/Song Company (V&C Trading), an exporting company buying goods in the U.S. and shipping them to the Philippines, is awaiting the date of her sentencing after pleading guilty last Oct. 4, 2007 to “two-count Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and one count of mail fraud.”
Four others, Marilyn Ong and her nephew, Ildefonso Ong, Jr., Nelson Ti and Jose Tirona have been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to commit offenses against the U.S., false statement, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of proceeding before Department and Agency of the United States, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done, and forfeiture. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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NEW YORK-- The BAYANIHAN Filipino Community Center was the site wherein over 100 Filipinos packed a townhall forum with Edith Burgos, mother of abducted activist Jonas Burgos, and widow of the late Filipino press freedom hero Jose Burgos.
Mrs. Burgos was in New York to kick-off her national speaking tour in the United States sponsored by GMA WATCH, where she will also travel to Minneapolis, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles before returning to the Philippines.
GMA WATCH is a national grassroots advocacy network of Filipino and human rights organizations in the US that was spawned shortly after US Congress took note on the rate of extrajudicial killings and abductions in the Philippines last March with a US Senate hearing. The local organizing group in New York is the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP).
Drawing tears from the audience, Burgos spoke candidly about her family's plight since Jonas Burgos, 36 and a agriculturalist with the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines), was abducted by identified elements of the Philippine military in broad daylight from a Quezon City mall on April 28, 2007. Jonas Burgos was apparently whisked away while shouting "Aktibista lang po ako!" (I'm only an activist!) and thrown into a military truck.
"You cannot imagine what goes through a mother's head, knowing that at any moment of the day, her son is being tortured," Burgos expressed to the packed, standing room audience.
Mrs. Burgos was accompanied by Mervin Toquero, a staff member of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). Toquero further contextualized the "human rights crisis" in the Philippines, with over 901 killings and 300 abductions, noting the ultimate command responsibility of Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo (GMA).
"We believe Arroyo's drive to stay in power is the real reason there are human rights violations in the Philippines today," Toquero emphasized to an agreeable audience.
After the panel discussion, an open forum revealed the raw sentiments of the Filipino community abroad.
"We may not be in the Philippines, but we are not helpless. We still have a role to play," stated Attorney Merit Salud, Advocacy Director for Region 1 of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA).
"We formed GMA WATCH precisely to lift US participation on the human rights crisis in the Philippines, on the basis that as US tax-payers, our dollars are funneled to the Philippine military as US military aid," Ellorin explained. "The GMA administration is the fourth largest recipient of US monetary aid in the world."
Many others in the audience expressed their disgruntlement with the Arroyo administration and supported popular calls in Manila for a regime change.
"She simply needs to go. More important than knowing who will replace her is the collective mission to remove her from office. In fact, if they say GMA WATCH, I say GMA OUST," Burgos pointed out frankly.
The following Monday, NYCHRP facilitated a visit between Burgos and UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings and Summary Executions Philip Alston at New York University. Burgos thoroughly updated Alston on her son's case since his high-profile 2007 report on the Philippines, implicating the Philippine military.
Burgos also expressed the lack of effort by the Arroyo government, by way of the Commission on Human Rights
(CHR), to address her son's case.
"The CHR has arrogantly dismissed Jonas' case, when they have told the world and the United Nations that they intend to sincerely address the human rights crisis in the Philippines," stated Burgos to Alston in his office.
Burgos' report to Alston was a striking contradiction to the report of Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who flew to New York last fall to update Alston and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the measures the Arroyo government was taking to resolve the country's human rights crisis.
After her meeting with Alston, Burgos proceeded to visit Elaine Pearson, director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch in Manhattan. This week, Burgos will proceed to Minneapolis and then Washington DC, where she is scheduled to meet with the legislative offices of elected officials from US Congress.
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