PCGG pushes bid for ouster of Erap men from San Miguel

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is pushing anew for the ouster of the nominees of former President Estrada to the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) by filing a supplemental petition with the Supreme Court.

In its petition, the PCGG urged the high tribunal to unseat the five nominees of Estrada to give way to the nominees of the Arroyo administration.

"These Estrada nominees no longer represent the PCGG and the Filipino people so they must be replaced. Otherwise, there will be no public representation to the company," PCGG officer-in-charge Jorge Sarmiento noted.

The five Estrada nominees are his brother-in-law Raul de Guzman, Allan Lee, Esperidion Laxa, Benjamin Paulino and Hermogenes Tantoco.

The PCGG, instead, wants to nominate Renato Valencia, former president of the Social Security System; banker Octavio Espiritu; former Presidential Security Group chief Maj. Gen. Leo Alvez; former Court of Appeals Justice Hector Hofilena and Bacolod businessman Francis Fuentebella.

Sarmiento said the Estrada men in SMC must be replaced because they no longer serve the purposes of the PCGG under the present administration.

Some 27-percent of the shares of SMC amounting to around P50 billion is under PCGG sequestration.

Last April 2, the PCGG filed a petition for the ouster of the five Estrada allies but the high tribunal has not acted on this.

Sarmiento said that since then, so many things have happened at the SMC so they decided to file a supplemental petition with the Supreme Court.

For one, businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, a close associate of Estrada, had been re-elected as SMC chairman during a stockholders’ meeting last May 3. He was voted by majority of the 15-man SMC board.

"(There were) occurrences or events which have happened since the earlier petition was filed. (During that meeting) the PCGG has been deprived of representation," he added.