Bank exec confirms P189.7-M check deposit by Dichaves

A bank executive confirmed yesterday claims that businessman Jaime Dichaves deposited in his account a check for P189.7 million, supposedly the kickback that former President Joseph Estrada demanded for ordering two state pension funds to invest in "speculative" shares of stock.

Ma. Socorro de Leon-Posadas, senior manager of the Cubao-Araneta branch of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI), testified before the Sandiganbayan special division trying Estrada for plunder that Dichaves deposited the check in his savings account on Nov. 4, 1999.

"The check was actually brought to our branch last Nov. 4, 1999 but was only cleared the following day due to the cut off of clearing time. The check was then deposited to Dichaves’ savings account no. 01-07-38639-9," de Leon said.

She said the P189.7-million check was automatically transferred from that savings account to Dichaves’ current account no. 0007-0555-8-7 at the same BPI branch on Nov. 9, 1999.

"Dichaves is among our valued clients in BPI. He was holding cash and check accounts in BPI. I have known Dichaves since the early 1990s when I was still employed at Metrobank," she said.

Dichaves, however, closed his long-standing accounts with the bank on Mar. 22, 2001, 13 days before Estrada was charged before the Sandiganbayan in eight criminal cases, including the capital charge of plunder, on Apr. 4 last year.

De Leon’s testimony corroborated that of Willie Ng Ocier, vice chairman of Belle Corp. which was then the exclusive operator of jai alai in the country.

Ocier had claimed in his earlier testimony that Estrada, through Dichaves, offered to have the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) purchase the block of shares that former Belle chairman Roberto Ongpin wanted to sell to Ocier’s group.

The sale of the 447,650,000 shares would supposedly help settle the debt load of Belle, a leisure and gaming firm that was then listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

It was Dichaves who told him that there were strong chances the GSIS and SSS would purchase the shares and that Estrada had already spoken with former GSIS president and general manager Federico Pascual and former SSS chairman and president Carlos Arellano.

But Dichaves said Estrada would only order Pascual and Arellano to purchase the block if he was paid some P200 million in commission, Ocier testified.

Both Pascual and Arellano, who testified before Ocier, confirmed that Estrada ordered them to arrange the purchase as part of the pension funds’ investment program.

But the P200 million was reduced to P189.7 million after taxes and brokers fees were deducted, he explained.

Ocier said the sale was consummated on Oct. 21, 1999 when the block of shares was sold to the GSIS and SSS for P3.10 per share, or a total of almost P2 billion.

The sale, he testified, was facilitated by SSI Management, one of the owners of Belle Corp, and Eastern Securities and Development Corp., both companies allegedly linked to Ocier’s family.

Ocier said the check for P189.7 million was prepared by SSI management, signed by Ocier’s sister Nancy and his father Benito Tan Guat, and drawn from the SSI account at the First Exchange Bank.

Ocier said Dichaves himself collected the check and De Leon confirmed it was deposited in Dichaves’ account before it made its way to the controversial "Jose Velarde" account which Estrada supposedly maintained with the Equitable-PCI Bank.

Meanwhile, government lawyers informed the court that another bank executive, lawyer Manuel Curato of the Equitable-PCI Bank, is expected to testify before the court at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Lead government prosecutor. Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said Curato will be among the 40 other witnesses the government is expected to present to the court.

Desierto, however, said the prosecution panel would likely review the affidavits of the 40 witnesses after Justice Minita Nazario, chairman of the special division, asked the prosecution to reduce the number of witnesses.

Estrada’s defense panel, on the other hand, is expected to present only five witnesses for Estrada, according to lead defense counsel, former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas.