i Report Online | The Ultimate Verdict

12 SEPTEMBER 2007

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AS CLEARLY BORNE BY THE EVIDENCE, ACCUSED ESTRADA TOOK UNDUE ADVANTAGE OF HIS OFFICIAL POSITION, AUTHORITY, RELATIONSHIP, AND INFLUENCE BY DIRECTING, ORDERING AND COMPELLING THE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM (SSS), TO PURCHASE THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE THOUSAND (329,855,000) SHARES OF STOCK OF BELLE CORPORATION IN THE AMOUNT OF SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR MILLION SIX HUNDRED TWELVE THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY PESOS (P744,612,450.00). (p.360)

1) Carlos Arellano (former SSS President) testified that:

he and Ding Pascual, were instructed by Estrada to look at the Belle shares

he, in turn, instructed the SSS investment committee to review the Belle shares

he met Estrada a week after in Malacañang Palace, where he also saw Jaime Dichaves

the SSS investment committee concluded that the Belle shares is a good investment

SSS bought 249 million Belle shares valued at P783M or an average price of P3.14 per share

2) Federico Pascual (former GSIS President) testified that:

he was asked by Estrada during a meeting at Malacañang if GSIS could buy Belle shares

while he was in London, he was again asked by Estrada, through the telephone, if GSIS could buy Belle shares

he called the GSIS Manila office and instructed Reynaldo Palmiery to study the possible purchase of Belle shares

when he returned to the Philippines, GSIS already purchased a total of 351 million Belle shares valued at P1.1B, equivalent to one board seat in the corporation

3) Rizaldy Capulong (Assistant Vice President for the SSS Securities Trading and Management Department) testified that:

the purchase of the Belle shares on October 21, 1999 was perfectly valid transaction and in order

4)Willie Ng Ocier (then Vice-Chair of Belle Corp.) testified that:

he talked with Jaime Dichavez in 1999

he was assured by Dichavez that GSIS and SSS will purchase the shares of Belle Corp.

he was told by Dichavez that Estrada was asking for a P200M profit commission

he did not ask Estrada to confirm what Dichavez told him

A) AS CLEARLY BORNE BY THE EVIDENCE, ACCUSED ESTRADA TOOK UNDUE ADVANTAGE OF HIS OFFICIAL POSITION, AUTHORITY, RELATIONSHIP, AND INFLUENCE BY DIRECTING, ORDERING AND COMPELLING THE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS) TO PURCHASE THREE HUNDRED FIFTY ONE MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT THOUSAND (351,878,000) SHARES OF STOCKS OF BELLE CORPORATION IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE BILLION ONE HUNDRED TWO MILLION NINE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVEN AND 50/100 PESOS (P1,102,965,607.50). (p.376)

A) The prosecution failed to show beyond reasonable doubt that the accused Estrada committed the act of “amassing, accumulating and acquiring” wealth, particularly, the act described in paragraphs “c” of the “Amended Information” (receiving commission from the sale of Belle shares) (p.182)

1) Transaction was perfectly valid and legal, and no commission was given to Accused (p.194)

2) SSS purchase of Belle shares valid and regular (p.196)

a) Rizaldy Capulong testified that:

the purchase of Belle shares was for portfolio trading only

SSS had been buying and selling shares even before October 21, 1999

3) Likewise, GSIS purchase was made in accordance with investment policy and rules (p.203)

a) Justice Hermogenes Concepcion (GSIS chair from July 1998 to June 2004) testified that:

the purchase of Belle shares satisfies the basic requirements of investment of GSIS funds

the purchase of Belle shares did not exceed the limits laid down by GSIS internal guidelines

he was not informed by Pascual about the latter’s conversation with Estrada concerning the Belle shares

no one from the board of trustees told him that Estrada pressured them to buy Belle shares

b) Reynaldo Palmiery (then chair of the GSIS investment committee) testified that:

the purchase of Belle shares was made only after the review and evaluation of the investment committee

GSIS had been trading in Belle shares since 1993

4) No evidence that accused ever received any percentage or commission from sale of Belle shares (p.218)

a) Estrada testified that:

he did not pressure Arellano and Pascual concerning the Belle shares

he only asked Arellano if it would be beneficial to the government to buy the Belle shares

he was told by Pascual that the corporate finance department will study it

he called Pascual but their conversation was regarding the delayed GSIS benefits

he might have called Arellano and told him to also study the purchase of Belle shares

he saw Ocier in Tagaytay Highlands but they never talked about commissions

B) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA TOOK UNDUE ADVANTAGE OF HIS OFFICIAL POSITION, AUTHORITY, RELATIONSHIP, AND INFLUENCE AND DIRECTED, ORDERED AND COMPELLED THE GSIS AND THE SSS TO PURCHASE THE SAID SHARES OF STOCK IN BELLE CORPORATION FOR HIS PERSONAL GAIN AND BENEFIT AND TO AMASS, ACCUMULATE AND ACQUIRE BY AND FOR HIMSELF, ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH, THEREBY UNJUSTLY ENRICHING HIMSELF AT THE EXPENSE AND TO THE DAMAGE OF GSIS, SSS, THEIR MEMBERS, THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. (p.382)

C) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA COLLECTED AND RECEIVED COMMISSIONS OR PERCENTAGES BY REASON OF SAID PURCHASES OF SHARES OF STOCK OF BELLE CORPORATION IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P189,700,000.00) WHICH BECAME PART OF THE DEPOSITS TO THE “JOSE VELARDE” ACCOUNT IN EQUITABLE-PCIBANK. (p.392)

D) THE PURCHASE OF THE BELLE SHARES WAS BLATANTLY IMPROVIDENT, MANIFESTLY DISADVANTAGEOUS AND WAS EXECUTED DUE ONLY TO THE UNDUE PRESSURE EXERTED BY ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA ON THE TOP OFFICIALS OF GSIS AND SSS; HOWEVER, EVEN ASSUMING THE SALE ITSELF TO BE REGULAR, ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA IS STILL GUILTY OF PLUNDER FOR THE SERIES OF UNDUE PRESSURE AND INFLUENCE AND AUTHORITY EXERTED OVER MESSRS. PASCUAL AND ARELLANO, FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING P189,700,000.00 IN COMMISSIONS, WHICH AMOUNT ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA ACTUALLY RECEIVED. (p.403)

B) Assuming the act was committed, the particular act described in paragraph “c” (receiving commission from the sale of Belle shares) was committed by Carlos Arellano and Federico Pascual

IV. PARAGRAPH “d” Amended Info: THE ‘JOSE VELARDE’ ACCOUNT

A) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA, WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, IS “JOSE VELARDE”:

1) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA, DURING HIS TESTIMONY, ADMITTED HAVING SIGNED AS “JOSE VELARDE” THE EQUITABLE-PCIBANK TRUST DOCUMENTS IN THE PRESENCE OF MS. CLARISSA OCAMPO AND ATTY. MANUEL CURATO. (p.424)

2) DOCUMENTS AND WITNESSES ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT NUMEROUS TRANSACTIONS IN THE VELARDE ACCOUNT INVOLVING DEPOSITS ALMOST ONE BILLION PESOS (P1,000,000,000.00) WERE MADE THROUGH LUCENA “BABY” ORTALIZA, ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA’S TRUSTED PERSONAL SECRETARY AND DESIGNATED HANDLER OF THE ESTRADAS’ BANK ACCOUNTS. (p.463)

a) Teresa Barcelona (Equitable-PCI Bank Greenhills-Ortigas Branch Manager) testified that:

Baby Ortaliza made inter-branch deposits to the Jose Velarde account

b) Melissa Pascual (former Equitable-PCI Bank Viramall Branch bank teller) testified that:

she processed the checks deposited by Ortaliza to the Jose Velarde account

c) Glyzelyn Bejec testified that:

several checks were deposited in the Jose Velarde account

3) EVIDENCE FOUND DURING THE HONORABLE COURT’S OCULAR INSPECTION OF THE “BORACAY MANSION” POINTED TO ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA AS THE BENEFICIAL AND ACTUAL OWNER OF THE “BORACAY MANSION”; FURTHER, THE 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 ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO MILLION PESOS (PHP142,000,000.00). (p.507)

4) SPECIAL TRUST ACCOUNT NO. 858 AT THE URBAN BANK ADMITTEDLY IN THE NAME ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA’S SON, JOSE VICTOR EJERCITO, FUNDED THE “JOSE VELARDE” ACCOUNT IN THE AMOUNT OF AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO MILLION PESOS (PHP182,000,000.00). (p.537)

5) THE FACT IS, IT IS CUSTOMARY FOR ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA TO SIGN AS “JOSE” (p.553)

a) Clarissa Ocampo (Equitable-PCI Bank official) testified that:

she brought to Malacañang on February 4, 2000 an Investment Management Agreement

she saw Estrada sign the Investment Management Agreement using the name “Jose Velarde” to extend a loan to Wellex, Inc.

A) The prosecution failed to show beyond reasonable doubt that the accused Estrada committed the act of “amassing, accumulating and acquiring” wealth, particularly, the act described in paragraphs “d” of the “Amended Information” (the ‘Jose Velarde’ account) (p.231)

1) There are missing elements in the Prosecution evidence which cannot be supplied by unreasonable inferences (p.244)

2) Accused Joseph Estrada cannot be linked to Jose Velarde account (p.249)

a) Estrada testified that:

he signed documents before Ocampo but the signing was a request of his friend, Jaime Dichaves

he was assured by Dichaves that it was just an arrangement with the bank ensuring that Dichavez would pay the loan on time

3) True owner of Velarde account positively identified as Dichaves (p.256)

a) Romuald Dy Tang (former treasurer and executive vice president of Equitable-PCI Bank) testified that:

it was Jaime Dichaves who opened the Jose Velarde account

he and Betty Bagsit handled the Velarde account for Dichaves

he advised Dichaves to prepare a letter for the records when Dichaves told him that he wanted to open an account under the name of Jose Velarde

he sometimes saw Dichaves in the bank when the latter made withdrawals from the Velarde account

b) Betty Bagsit testified that:

Dy Tang was the account officer of Jaime Dichaves

she sometimes handled the account of Dichaves

there is no Jose Velarde, it was Dichaves himself

all transactions in the Velarde account were coursed to Dichaves

4) Inference that Ortaliza deposited for accused Estrada is based on conjecture (p.258)

5) Court cannot assume that the J. V. Ejercito account belongs to accused Joseph Estrada (p.260)

B) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA OPENED, MAINTAINED AND OWNED SAVINGS ACCOUNT NO. 0160-62501-5 IN THE NAME OF “JOSE VELARDE” AND CAUSED THE DEPOSIT OF ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH AMOUNTING TO THREE BILLION THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE AND 09/100 PESOS (PHP3,389,791,659.09). (p.556)

1) PART OF SUCH ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH WAS DERIVED FROM ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA’S UNLAWFUL COMMISSION FROM THE SEPARATE PURCHASES BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM (SSS) AND THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS) OF BELLE CORPORATION SHARES, WHICH COMMISSION AMOUNTED TO ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PHP189,700,000.00) OBTAINED BY A SERIES OF UNDUE PRESSURE, INFLUENCE AND AUTHORITY EXERTED UPON THE TOP OFFICIALS OF SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM (SSS) AND THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS) (p.571)

C) ACCUSED JOSEPH ESTRADA’S BARE DENIALS AND SELF-SERVING HEARSAY ALLEGATIONS CANNOT OVERTURN THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE PROSECUTION THAT HE IS “JOSE VELARDE.” (p.580)

B) Assuming the act was committed, the particular act described in paragraph “d” (the ‘Jose Velarde’ account) was committed by nameless and unidentified individuals.