Prosecution: More than 800% of Jinggoy’s bank assets undeclared in SALNs

More than 800 percent of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's cash assets in several banks were not declared in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), the prosecution told the Sandiganbayan court Tuesday.

At the continuation of the hearing of Estrada’s bail petition for a plunder case with the Fifth Division, state prosecutor Maria Christina Marallag-Batacan said based on the bank inquiry report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Estrada has a total of 835.9 percent and 831.5 percent cash in banks that were not declared in his SALNs for 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Batacan made the revelation after Estrada’s lawyer, Alejandre Dueñas,attempted to block the presentation of the prosecution’s witness, Manuel Yap, a branch manager of China Bank's branch in Legaspi Village, Makati.

In sending Yap to the witness stand, the prosecution told the court that he was supposed to testify that Estrada has a dollar time deposit account with the branch, which the senator supposedly opened in September 2008 and closed in May 2010 with a total balance of $289,089 or P13.428 million.

Batacan told the court that this dollar time deposit account was among the bank assets not declared by Estrada in his SALNs for 2008 and 2009.

But before Yap could begin his testimony, Dueñas blurted out that whatever the witness will be saying was irrelevant to Estrada’s case.

“The testimony of the witness will be irrelevant to the accused’s plunder case. While the bank account was mentioned in the AMLC report, it was only mentioned in respect to his (Estrada's) SALNs and not to the investigation regarding the plunder case,” Dueñas said.

Dueñas said the allegation against Estrada based on the plunder complaint filed by the Office of the Ombudsman was the amassing of ill-gotten wealth from the pork barrel scam supposedly amounting to P183 million.

“The allegation is the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth. The alleged non-declaration in SALNs was not included in the information of the case,” he said.

Batacan, however, insisted on the relevance of the witness’ testimony, saying that the huge amount of Estrada’s alleged undeclared bank assets will add strength to the charge that he accumulated wealth from the pork barrel scam.

“How can it be irrelevant when it is part of the analysis made by AMLC in its report? It is very relevant, your honor, when it comes to the [allegation of] accumulation of wealth,” Batacan said.

In the end, the defense team acceded to the presentation of the witness, but only with respect to the identification of bank documents.

“We are maintaining our position that these China Bank documents were irrelevant to the case,” Dueñas said.

Based on a portion of the AMLC report, Estrada has a total of P49.013 million cash balance with China Bank and nine other banks in 2008, but he only declared in his SALN for that year a total of P5.237 million cash on hand and in banks.

Meanwhile, for 2009, the AMLC report said that Estrada has a total cash balance of P52.285 million in China Bank and nine other banks, but he only declared a total of P5.613 million cash on hand and in banks in his 2009 SALN.

Under Section 8 of the Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, all public officials and employees are mandated to submit truthful declarations of their assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests every year. —KBK, GMA News