Sandigan upholds forfeiture case vs Marcos crony

The third division of the Sandiganbayan has upheld the forfeiture case against the companies and other assets of former Construction and Development Corp. of the Philippines (CDCP) founder Rodolfo Cuenca, a close friend of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

In a 23-page resolution promulgated last Oct. 5, the anti-graft court denied Cuenca’s demurer to evidence which prayed for the dismissal of the government lawsuit.

"The issuances of former President Marcos offered in evidence by the plaintiff and admitted by the Court... benefited the corporation identified with defendant Rodolfo M. Cuenca and alleged to have been used as fronts, dummies, shields and artifices. Insofar as defendant Cuenca is concerned, we find the existence of greater weight of evidence or probability of the truth of the allegations constituting plaintiff’s causes of action against said defendant," the court said.

Evidence proffered against Cuenca included official orders of Marcos which were admitted by the court by judicial notice. Among these were presidential decrees and letters of intent approving the franchise of CDCP; extending the franchise to 30 years; and directing government financial institutions to guarantee the firm’s loans; and converting CDCP’s loan obligations to shares of common stock that government financial institutions subscribed to.

The court, however, cleared two other defendants named by the Presidential Commission on Good Government in the lawsuit. Cleared for insufficiency of evidence were former Philippine National Bank president Panfilo Domingo and former CDCP treasurer Nora Vinluan.

The court also barred the admission of 101 pieces of documentary evidence submitted by the PCGG on the ground that these were mere photocopies in addition to the failure of government lawyers to produce the original documents for authentication.

"Considering that the documents offered are mere photocopies, with their execution and authenticity not having been duly proved, the same were adjudged to be inadmissible (as) evidence," the court said.

Among the rejected documents were sworn statements and affidavits executed by businessman Jose Campos and former Security Bank chief executive officer and president Rolando Gapud, both of whom admitted helping the Marcoses amass and conceal ill-gotten wealth.

Also junked by the court were papers pertaining to guarantees and loans extended to CDCP by various government financial institutions including the

Development Bank of the Philippines, PNB, the Government Service Insurance System, Land Bank of the Philippines, and the National Development Co.

Of CDCP’s P12.3 billion foreign and domestic loan exposure as of 1992, the government was able to recover only P4 billion, while the remaining P8.3 billion was passed on to taxpayers.