Antonio Tiu to Senate panel: I won't submit Rosario, Batangas documents

Saying the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing on the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall building II has turned into a “fishing expedition,” businessman Antonio Tiu on Thursday refused to submit the documents related to his ownership of a sprawling property in Batangas despite a subpoena from lawmakers.

 

In a letter addressed to subcommittee chairman Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III dated November 6, Tiu said the documents being subpoenaed by the Senate are outside the scope of the inquiry into the reported overpriced construction of the Makati City parking building since they “pertain to a private business transaction between private individuals over a private property” in Rosario, Batangas.

 

 

“Evidently, the documents subject of the subpoena have nothing to do with the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall buildings, much less would they have any relevance to ‘amendments to the appropriate bidding and procurement laws and policies.’ Indeed, as with the conduct of the inquiry itself, the issuance of the subpoena is clearly ‘not in aid of legislation,’” he said.

 

The Senate subcommittee was convened to probe the alleged overpricing of the Makati parking building, whose construction began during Vice President Jejomar Binay’s term as city mayor. But in a span of two months, the hearings have also gone on to tackle other controversies implicating the second highest official in the land.

 

Tiu, who has been accused of being a dummy with Binay as the true owner of the Batangas property, decried his treatment before the subcommittee.

 

“I am now a target due to statements made by the subcommittee during the hearings and in the media, where I was and am being accused of being a tax evader, money launderer and a dishonest businessman,” he said.

 

The trader said several government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Department of Agrarian Reform and the National Bureau of Investigation, have been directed to investigate him and his companies as a result of the Senate probe.
 

Violation of constitutional rights?

 

Tiu said the Senate’s issuance of a subpoena is not only “unreasonable and oppressive” but a clear violation of his constitutional rights.

 

In particular, he said the subpoena violates his right to privacy, his right against unreasonable searches and seizures, his right to privacy of communication and correspondence, and his right against self-incrimination since he is being made to reveal the transactions, conversations and correspondence related to the 350-hectare estate.

 

The businessman maintained he had already “performed [his] duty as a citizen of the Philippines with utmost faith” by showing up at the two hearings conducted last month and answering the senators’ questions regarding the property.

 

But Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, one of the members of the subcommittee, insisted the subpoena did not violate Tiu’s rights since he is “only a representative” of Sunchamp Real Estate and Development Corporation, which owns and manages the Batangas property.

 

“He’s only a representative of the company even if he is the majority stockholder and the CEO (chief executive officer) of the company. What we’re asking for are documents from the corporation,” he said at the resumption of the subcommittee’s hearing.

 

The subcommittee convened after Binay snubbed an invitation from the mother committee to attend the hearing.

 

Despite the absence of Binay and Tiu from the probe, the panel proceeded to tackle the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Science High School and the Vice President’s purported foreign currency accounts in overseas banks. — JST, GMA News