PCGG nixes offer of Lucio Tan's

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) yesterday declined an offer of Mariano Tanenglian to turn state witness in the ill-gotten wealth case against his estranged brother, business taipan Lucio Tan on condition that he be granted immunity.

PCGG commissioner for litigation Ricardo Abcede said that they decided not to grant the request for immunity of Tanenglian in exchange for him testifying in the case currently pending before the Sandiganbayan.

“What if, at some point, he decides to back out and we have already given him immunity?,” Abcede said.

Abcede said that they were also wary of Tanenglian using the immunity to be granted to him as “leverage” in his current feud with his older brother.

He, however, said that they were not preventing Tanenglian from testifying.

“We’re not in any way preventing him from testifying. What we don’t want is his conditionalities in exchange for doing so,” Abcede said.

Tanenglian had earlier offered himself as a witness in exchange for being given immunity from suit. However, Abcede said there were certain things they have to consider in taking up Tanenglian’s offer.

“They are brothers. What if we gave Mr. Tanenglian his immunity and then in the process of the case they patch up and finally made up. Where do we end up with? If they reconcile after we gave him immunity, eh sino ang magmumukhang tanga (who would look like a fool?),” Abcede said.

Abcede said the government cannot just offer immunity to a person without first weighing the gravity of his knowledge about the case.

“As any lawyer or legal person or sane person would do, tell us what you know, show it in an affidavit, if it merits, then it can be done. What if we gave him immunity over a bunch of details that we already knew and had presented. Sayang lang,” he mused.

 Besides, Abcede said, the anti-graft court has already closed the door as far as presenting witnesses is concerned.

Earlier, the Office of the Solicitor General and Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera turned down Tanenglian’s offer saying his motive was obscure and his request for immunity grossly disadvantageous to the government.

In a nine-page memorandum to PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio, Devanadera stressed that Tanenglian’s offer to turn his back against Tan is dubious and questionable since the siblings are now entangled in a bitter personal dispute that has already reached the courts.

Tan and Tanenglian are at odds over personal and business matters.