DAR chief: Tiu told me he only leases Batangas property

MANILA, Philippines - Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes claimed on Thursday that businessman Antonio Tiu told him that he was only renting the agricultural property in Batangas linked to Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Testifying at the Senate Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee hearing on the Makati City Hall II parking building, De los Reyes said he visited the controversial estate sometime in August upon Tiu's invitation.

He recalled his conversation with Tiu, who supposedly did not say that he owns the estate.

"He said he leased it, he did not own it. Because if anyone owns that big parcel of land, then this will surely fall into our database. But our database did not show any ownership," De los Reyes told Sen. Alan Cayetano.

When asked for his response, Tiu claimed that he told De los Reyes that has usufruct or rights over the land.

But De los Reyes insisted Tiu used the word "lease" not "usufruct."

"My recollection your honor is 'lease' because I was asking whether he had ownership," De los Reyes said.

After failing to convince senators last week that he owns the property, Tiu submitted earlier today a one-page unnotarized memorandum of agreement between him and Laureano Gregorio for the purchase of the estate.

Tiu, accused of acting as Binay's dummy, has insisted that he is the rightful owner of the controversial Batangas estate.