Velarde account contains P2,770.69

The controversial bank account that sparked moves leading to the ouster of Pre-sident Joseph Estrada contains just a little over P2,000.

In a one-page letter to the Sandiganbayan dated Sept. 18, Equitable PCI Bank legal advisory manager Gerardo Banzon said the account with the bank’s Binondo-Juan Luna branch in Manila in the name of Jose Velarde contains only P2,770.69,

It was not clear if the amount was what the account had contained all along or if it had been emptied.

Sandiganbayan sheriff Edgardo Urieta received Banzon’s letter yesterday.

During the Estrada impeachment trial in late 2000, the Velarde account was believed to contain over P500 million. The controversy surrounding this bank account and the strong emotional reaction of the public to this controversy helped spark the EDSA II uprising that ousted Estrada.

The Velarde account was believed to be owned by Estrada and was used by the ousted president to deposit billions of pesos he illegally amassed during his term as president. This bank account is one of the bases for the capital charge of plunder filed against him.

Urieta said his office is not convinced by Banzon’s report, adding that he intends to coordinate with the prosecutors handling the Estrada case led by the Office of the Ombudsman in checking the veracity of Banzon’s report.

"We will submit this report of Equitable PCI Bank to the Sandiganbayan special division and we will coordinate with the Office of the Ombudsman for further inquiry about the truthfulness of Banzon’s claims," Urieta said.

The Sandiganbayan Sheriff’s Office served the bank a notice of garnishment confiscating the contents of the Equitable PCI Bank accounts of Jose Velarde and Yolanda Ricaforte, Estrada’s alleged jueteng accountant and auditor.

In the his letter to Urieta, Banzon also said Ricaforte has existing accounts in at least six branches of Equitable PCI Bank.

According to Banzon, Ricaforte has accounts with the following Equitable PCI Bank branches: Scout Tobias in Quezon City containing P7,832,702.17; Matalino-Diliman in Quezon City, P2,337,369.86; Robinsons Place Manila, P710,441.55; Scout Albano, Quezon City, P631,731.95; ESB-Isadora Hills, P603,488.53 and; T.M. Kalaw-Luneta, P331,578.20.

"We reserve, however, the bank’s preferred right to set-off for compensation or to make application of such garnished funds upon any outstanding claim the bank may have against said respondents or the complainant," Banzon told Urieta in his letter.

Sandiganbayan Special Division chairwoman and acting Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario earlier issued a writ of preliminary attachment on all assets and bank accounts of Ricaforte, Jose Velarde, Estrada crony Charlie "Atong" Ang and Jaime Dichaves and the over P200 million of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation with Equitable PCI Bank to prevent the accused from hiding these assets and funds.

Dichaves is a friend of Estrada who claimed ownership of the Velarde account.

Besides Ricaforte’s total P12,447,312.26 bank deposits in six branches of Equitable PCI Bank, Nazario also ordered the attachment of Ricaforte’s house and lot on 25 Freedom Avenue, Area I, Veterans Village, Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City.

Nazario also ordered the attachment of Ang’s house and lot on 18 Manansala st., Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City.

Reacting to Banzon’s letter to Urieta, Assistant Ombudsman Dennis Villa-Ignacio said the prosecution panel will ask the anti-graft court to summon the officials of Equitable PCI Bank to explain why the Jose Velarde account contained only P2,770.69.

"That’s the next step to trace how the money in (bank accounts) of Estrada’s co-accused disappeared from the bank," Villa-Ignacio said. Countering the writ of attachment, Noel Malaya, Estrada’s legal counsel, filed before the Sandiganbayan an opposition to issuance of writ of preliminary attachment.

Malaya said the anti-graft court should order the prosecution panel to submit a list of cases where the attachment of the properties of alleged grafters were issued.

"In the many years that the prosecution has gone after alleged grafters, has it ever asked this court to attach all the assets of the accused? If so, the prosecution should submit in court a list of cases where the drastic remedy was sought and where this court granted such a draconian application so that the continuing perception that the Estradas are being unfairly singled out for persecution may not be exacerbated," he said.

Malaya said the prosecution panel apparently wants the court to order the forfeiture of all properties of Estrada, which the ousted president acquired during his tenure as president.