Malampaya kickbacks funded Ruby’s mansion, Jinggoy insists

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada disputed yesterday claims by Ruby Tuason’s lawyer that her property in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City was bought using insurance claims of her late husband.

Estrada maintained that the mansion, designed by architect Ed Ledesma for the former appointments secretary of former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, came from commissions Tuason got from her deals on the Malampaya fund.

“It’s not enough,” Estrada said, noting that he personally visited the mansion when Tuason invited him to dinner during the election period in 2010.

Estrada estimated Tuason’s residence to cost P100 million, far more than what she supposedly received from her late husband’s insurance claims.

He said the mansion was undervalued when official documents showed that it was purchased for P45 million in 2009.

According to her lawyer, Tuason received a total of $1.8 million, equivalent to about P84 million, from the two insurance policies of her late husband, Carlos Tuason.

Estrada said it is “expected” that Tuason’s camp would justify the source of her money to avoid being implicated in any wrongdoing.

The senator revealed Tuason’s questionable background in a privilege speech last week and that she amassed as much as P242 million from the Malampaya deals.