Mystery deepens around bank depositor ‘Jose Valhalla’

Who is Jose Valhalla? And why would he remit P142 million to a friend of President Estrada?

Valhalla’s name was mentioned in the opening statement of Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo, who sits in the 11-member panel prosecuting the President and whose team is handling the bribery charge and another offense having to do with several mansions which Mr. Estrada and his mistresses allegedly own.

Rep. Edmundo Reyes Jr. (Independent, Marinduque), a member of the prosecution’s staff, told reporters yesterday that they have checked the telephone directories and the records of the National Census and Statistics Office and the Bureau of Immigration for "Jose Valhalla," "but the name does not exist."

"Not even the family name Valhalla. This only proves that it is really fictitious," said Reyes.

The National Bureau of Investigation likewise said it has no records of any person with that name, indicating that Jose Valhalla has never applied for any NBI clearance or has been charged with any crime.

"Perhaps he never had any need for it (clearance) or was at least able to settle out of court any case before it ever reached the court," explained NBI sources. "Maybe there is no Valhalla in this country because it sounds foreign."

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the great hall of slain warriors where the god Odin presides.

Reyes said the prosecution will request a subpoena for the manager of the Binondo, Manila branch of Equitable Bank where the mystery man’s P142-million check was drawn.

He said based on documents gathered by the prosecution, it was Valhalla who provided the funds for the acquisition of the so-called "Boracay" mansion in New Manila, Quezon City, one of several palatial residences allegedly owned by Mr. Estrada and his mistresses.

In his opening statement the other day, Arroyo said Valhalla’s signature and that of Mr. Estrada were the same, and that the P142 million used for the purchase of Boracay came from the President.

The Boracay mansion is identified particularly with former actress Laarni Enriquez, by whom the Chief Executive has three young children. The President has admitted that he and Enriquez had rented the house from his friend and former housing adviser Jose Luis Yulo.

The former actress is also said to be the beneficial owner of another mansion nearing completion in Wack Wack Subdivision, Mandaluyong City.

Reyes said the P142 million was paid on Oct. 5, 1999 to Yulo, who deposited it in his Bank of the Philippine Islands account.

Two days later, on Oct. 7, Yulo transferred the same amount to St. Peter’s Holdings which, according to Arroyo, is one of several shell corporations formed by the President’s personal lawyer, Edward Serapio, to conceal the mansions and other alleged ill-gotten properties.

It was St. Peter’s Holdings in turn which purchased the Boracay property from the Madrigal family, Reyes said.

He said when it was formed by Serapio and five members of his law firm, the holding company had an authorized capital of P1 million, of which P62,500 was paid-up.

"How can a corporation with a paid-up capital of P62,500 acquire a property worth tens of millions of pesos?" he asked.

Clearly, he said St. Peter’s Holdings is only a shell corporation used to hide the Boracay mansion for Mr. Estrada and his mistresses.

According to Romeo Capulong, one of the lawyers of the private complainants in the impeachment case against the President, there are other firms formed by Serapio and his law partners to conceal other properties.

Capulong said the prosecution has in its possession the sworn statements of Serapio’s partners that they were merely used as dummies in the corporations.

They were made to understand that they were fronting for "undisclosed clients," he said.

In a related development, Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella urged the people to "exercise sobriety and objectivity and let the constitutional process take its due course."

"As Filipinos, let us pray to God for light and guidance, particularly for the senators who are sitting as jurors and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who is presiding over this historic event in the country’s political life," he said.

He said the people should also pray for both the prosecutors and defense lawyers "so that they would be, in the end, instruments in our search for the truth."

For his part, former Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. expressed confidence that despite the "twists and turns" in Mr. Estrada’s impeachment trial, the truth will prevail.

"The prosecution has a strong case, and I am sure that through their efforts, the whole truth will be presented to the Senate tribunal and to the Filipino people," he said.

It was under Villar’s leadership that the House transmitted the impeachment complaint against the President to the Senate last Nov. 13. Hours later, Villar was ousted.–With Jose Aravilla