Only one-fourth of Erap 'loot' forfeited by court

In over 200 pages of black ink on fields of white, the Sandiganbayan verdict on Wednesday capped a political drama that has haunted the Philippines over the last seven years – the plunder and pillage of the national coffers by ousted President Joseph Estrada. Estrada, who scored the biggest election victory in all of Philippine history, was judged guilty of plunder and sentenced to serve up to 40 years in jail. The prosecution had sought to prove P4.1-billion of allegedly ill-gotten wealth. At the trial’s close, the anti-graft court in its ruling forfeited -- based on what had been proven -- a fourth of what the prosecutors claimed Estrada had amassed: monies worth more than P700 million and a notoriously fabulous mansion in an upscale neighborhood in New Manila, Quezon City. The Sandiganbayan ordered the forfeiture, in favor of the government, of more than P500 million (P545,291,000), including the P200 million deposited in the account of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation. The prosecution evidence proved that the P545,291,000 million represented the total jueteng collections for Estrada from November 1998 to August 2000, and that the Erap foundation got nearly half the total. Court records show that the foundation’s bank account had a balance of P207,010,488.53 as of August 29, 2002. The Erap Muslim Youth Foundation’s Board is chaired by Estrada’s brother in law, Raul P. de Guzman. Its board Secretary, Atty. Edward Serapio, a co-accused, was acquitted by the court, however, in the plunder case. According to SEC records, the foundation ceased to operate from 2000 to 2002. In its latest financial statement filed with the SEC, it declared total assets of P211, 844, 507 as of 2003. (See Erap Muslim Foundation’s 2005 financial statement.) Too, the Sandiganbayan forfeited P189 million that had been deposited in the Jose Velarde account with Equitable PCIBank. The amount represented Estrada’s earnings from the purchase of shares of stocks in Belle Corporation, that state pension funds acquired, on his orders. One year into the plunder trial in 2002, the Jose Velarde account had been frozen. Still, it seemed like somebody had beaten the government to the draw: Bank documents show that the Velarde account at the Equitable PCI Juan Luna- Binondo branch has a balance of only P2, 770. 69 as of Sept 18, 2002. “Wala tayong maggaawa dun kung ‘yan lang ang inabutan ng gobyerno," says Atty. Renato Bocar, Sandiganbayan spokesperson, “But there are other remedies." To satisfy the court’s judgment, he said one remedy is for the Sandiganbayan sheriff to go after the other properties registered in the name of Estrada. PCIJ’s investigation, published a year before Estrada’s ouster, found that the network of corporations linked to the former president has acquired at least 17 pricey properties in Metro Manila, Baguio and Tagaytay. Yet throughout his six-year trial, most of myriad mansions, corporations and other assets of Estrada had remained "free" and accessible to his family. The court had failed to issue freeze or garnishment orders to safeguard the properties. By all accounts of their unchanged, frivolous lifestyle, Estrada and his family members continued to retain access to his reportedly vast, if legally contested, estate. The official records, however, paint a modest story of the family riches. GMA News Research compiled the assets declared by spouses Joseph and Luisa Estrada in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth. (See Net Worth of Joseph and Loi Estrada) Ironically, the properties that the Sandiganbayan forfeited in its plunder decision never graced the pages of any Estrada SALN. Among Estrada’s known properties, the government now lays claim to the Boracay mansion of urban legend fame with its wave pool and white sand. The court ruled that funds from the Jose Velarde account were used to purchase the New Manila property. The PCIJ reported in 2000 that the fair market value of the land alone was P328 million. The court had issued freeze orders on several other bank accounts and properties under the name of the other co-accused in the plunder case. Ordered frozen were six different accounts in the name of Yolanda Ricaforte amounting to more than P12 million (P12, 447, 312.26) as of Sept 2002. Ricaforte is a co-accused in the plunder case, but was never arraigned. She now has a standing warrant of arrest. Immigration records show Ricaforte left the country on January 20, 2001 – the same day Estrada left Malacañang on a barge. Her picture and profile are posted on the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which tagged her as a “Fugitive from a foreign country for the crime of plunder." Frozen accounts under the name of Yolanda Ricaforte

PCI EQUITABLE BRANCH	AMOUNT (IN PHP)
Scout Tobias	7,832,702.17
Matalino-Diliman Branch	2,337,369.86
Robinson’s Place-Manila Branch	710,441.55
Scout Albano Branch	631,731.95
ESB – Isidora Hills Branch	603,488.53
T.M. Kalaw – Luneta Branch	331,578.20
Source: Notice of Garnishment

Attached or Frozen properties

Properties	Supporting documents
house and lot of Charlie Atong Ang 18 Manansala St, Corinthian Gardens QC	Sandiganbayan Resolution Aug 22, 2002
House and lot of Yolanda Ricaforte 25 Freedom Ave Area 1, Veterans Village, Brgy Pasong Tamo, QC	Sandiganbayan resolution, Aug 22, 2002 with inventory and notice of levy on Sept 4, 2002
A 1,117-sqm property in WackWack, Mandaluyong registered under Abby Dichaves married to Jaime Dichaves	Notice of levy
Property under the name of Jaime Dichaves 19 Madrigal St Corinthian Gardens QC - with inventory	Notice of Levy on Sept 5, 2002
5,000 shares of Star J Bingo Incorporated under the name of Jaime Dichaves (amount subscribed is P500,000)	Notice of Garnishment
Source: Sandiganbayan

In a plea bargaining agreement in January 2007, Atong Ang waived in favor of the State his rights over his Corinthian home. A co-accused in Estrada’s plunder case, Ang pleaded to a lesser crime of Corruption of Public Officials. As part of the deal, Ang promised to return P25 million, his share of the misappropriated P130 million tobacco excise tax. In lieu of cash, Ang gave up the Corinthian property. Jaime Dichaves is also among the co-accused in the plunder case, who also remains at large. The Sheriff had served a notice of levy on the Corinthian property in Dichaves’s name. Immigration records show Dichaves left for HongKong on January 19, 2001 – a day before the Estrada government fell. Dichaves may have left, but his business transactions here continued. In 2002, the government sought to attach one of his properties, a unit in Belle View Condominium in Tagaytay City. It turned out, however, that the property had been sold by Abby Dichaves, Jaime’s wife, for more than P12 million (P12,300,000) just weeks before the freeze order was issued. The sale was detailed in the letter of the Tagaytay Register of Deeds to Sheriff Edgardo Urieta. The properties of the co-accused who had not been arraigned, and who are the subjects of standing arrest warrants, including Ricaforte and Dichaves, will remain untouched until a final judgment has been handed down on them. If the court truly intends to seize and safeguard Estrada’s assets, should another agency like the Presidential Commission on Good Government be organized? Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio was emphatic: “I have a very sad experience with the PCGG." PCGG, he says, has been going after the Marcos assets for 20 years. What, he asks, has it got to show? Once Estrada files an appeal or motion for reconsideration of the Sandiganbayan verdict, the order to forfeit his monies and properties listed in the plunder decision will remain frozen, until the Supreme Court shall have issued a final and executory decision on his case. In that event, the Filipino people will have to wait a while longer while restitution remains in deep freeze. – With reports from Mary Ann Señir