Sandigan affirms dismissal of ill-gotten wealth case vs Yulo heirs, YKR corp

The Sandiganbayan affirmed the dismissal of an ill-gotten wealth case against the heirs of Luis Yulo and the family’s YKR Corporation over the Busuanga Properties in Palawan, which, in turn, was the subject of an ill-gotten wealth case against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

In a five-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by the Philippine Agri-Business Center Corporation (PABC) on the anti-graft court's April 2019 decision by pointing out that the only evidence the PABC had presented were photocopies of documents which were not compared to the originals.

The PABC purchased the Busuanga Properties from the owner, Alfonso Doronilla, in March 1975.  The Busuanga Properties, however, was taken over by the Yulo King Ranch (YKR) Corporation led by lawyer Roberto Sabido and Luis Yulo in 1976 or when Marcos was president and the country was under martial law.

“No justification was offered to exempt them from producing the original document in accordance with the best evidence rule. Thus, the evidence presented are bereft of any substantial probative value,” the Sandiganbayan argued.

The anti-graft court argued further that YKR Corporation and seven out of the 10 Yulo heirs did not categorically admit to nor deny the allegations because the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has taken all the records.

“Under the Rules and as held by the Supreme Court, such answer is a permissible way of making specific denial. In Section 10, Rule 8, there are three ways of making a specific denial, including: 'stating that the defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of a material averment in the complaint, which has the effect of a denial,'” the Sandiganbayan said.

“After going over the Motion for Reconsideration, seeking to set aside the resolution granting the demurrer to evidence filed by YKR Corporation and six out of ten Yulo heirs, this Court finds no cogent reason to change, modify and/or otherwise reverse the same, considering that the matters raised in the motion had already been considered and resolved. Wherefore, the instant motion is hereby denied,” the Sandiganbayan added.

After the YKR takeover of the Busuanga property in 1976, YKR's Sabido promised PABC that YKR would look for a land swap arrangement or an alternative property for PABC to replace the Busuanga Properties as well as pay the PABC P250,000 for the YKR occupation of Busuanga Properties.

The land swap, however, did not happen. Worse, PABC only received P100,000 over YKR’s forced occupation of the Busuanga Properties.

The PCGG eventually ordered the sequestration of YKR Corporation and gained control of all its assets, including the Busuanga Properties, in April 2, 1987 or a year after Marcos was ousted from power. — DVM, GMA News