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Gov’t wins P5-B PTIC dividends


The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on Wednesday awarded to the government cash dividends and stock earnings paid by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) on the 111,415 shares of the Philippine Telecommunications Investments Corp. (PTIC) forfeited in favor of the state in December 2006 as part of the Marcos ill-gotten wealth. The Presidential Commission on Good Government has already sold the PTIC shares to First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong for P25.2 billion last February 28, but the disposition of the dividends was resolved only now. Officials of the Presidential Commission on Good Government said its latest court victory is worth as much as P5 billion to the government since the dividends and earnings date back to 1986 up to the present. However, Senator Joker Arroyo in 1993 declared that the PTIC dividends were already somewhere near $500 million. At the time, Arroyo still served as a congressman. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in March this year, gave the present figure at P35.1 billion. PCGG Commissioner Nicasio Conti, in an earlier interview, said the real value of the Sandiganbayan award could be known by tracing back records of payment declarations made by PLDT in favor of PTIC since 1986. Commissioner Ricardo Abcede has said that the dividends were paid to Prime Holdings Inc. (PHI), the holding company of the family of businessman Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco. In its eight-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Jose R. Hernandez, the Sandiganbayan junked objections raised by PHI, the estate of Ramon U. Cojuangco and Imelda O. Cojuangco, the other claimants of PTIC. “The judgment is very clear. (Former President Ferdinand) Marcos was the owner of PHI and the PTIC shares registered under PHI forms part of the ill-gotten wealth that belongs and must be recovered by the Republic," the court declared. PHI and the Cojuangcos opposed the government claim over the dividends saying their disposition was not covered by the Supreme Court verdict awarding the PTIC shares to the government. The Sandiganbayan overruled their arguments noting that the State has the rightful claim over the dividends after it ownership over the disputed PTIC shares were upheld by the High Court. “Dividends do not exist except to accrue to the shareholdings. If the 111,415 shares belong to the Plaintiff (Republic of the Philippines) from 1986, who then other than the Plaintiff is entitled to the dividends that accrued to these same shares? We hold that it should be no other than the Plaintiff," the court added. - GMANews.TV

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