Jinggoy tags top tax evader

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada welcomed the libel suit filed by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo against him yesterday, but not without linking him to another dubious character, this one an alleged big-time tax evader from Hong Kong.

Mr. Arroyo filed a libel case with the Pasay City prosecutor’s office against Estrada after the latter reportedly linked him to two alleged big-time smugglers in the country.

Estrada said he planned to refute Mr. Arroyo’s allegations and "prove that the said complaint is mere political harassment to gag me from further exposing anomalies committed under this illegitimate administration."

Estrada claimed he received information that Assistant City Prosecutor Elmer Mitra, who is reportedly handling the case, has been promised a promotion in exchange for a favorable ruling on the libel charge.

In a privilege speech, Estrada also linked Mr. Arroyo to Hong Kong businessman Jack Lam, the board chairman of Fort Ilocandia.

Estrada said Lam managed to gain majority control of Fort Ilocandia through the establishment of two dummy corporations — Ilocandia Holdings Inc. and the Intellectual Group Ltd. — that serve as majority shareholders of Fort Ilocandia Property Holdings and Development Corp.

Estrada alleged that Lam collaborated with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. head Efraim Genuino for the operation of casinos, including the VIP rooms at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City and the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu.

It was through Lam’s ties with Genuino that he managed to get close to the First Gentleman, Estrada said.

He said it was through this connection that President Arroyo went to visit Lam at Fort Ilocandia as the businessman’s guest of honor.

Estrada also claimed that Lam was reportedly caught on video uncorking a bottle of champagne in the company of Mr. Arroyo and other politicians during boxer Manny Pacquiao’s fight in Las Vegas, Nevada last year.

He said he is in the process of trying to confirm a report that Lam bankrolled the suite used by Mr. Arroyo while in Las Vegas, which cost $20,000 per night.

Estrada also claimed that Lam managed to secure control of the Fontana Leisure Parks in Pampanga by purchasing the shares held by a suspected big-time smuggler through dummy corporations, ending up with 90 percent ownership of the resort.

Lam is allegedly guilty of tax evasion and had hired Chinese nationals to work for Fontana without the necessary papers from the Bureau of Immigration, Estrada said.

"This is now the gambling empire that Genuino has apparently built for his patron, Mike Arroyo, and which now brings in tons of money, not to the government but to the very, very powerful personalities in this administration and their private partners," Estrada said.

Baseless, false claims

In a four-page complaint-affidavit he submitted to Mitra, Mr. Arroyo said Estrada’s statements are baseless and utterly false.

"First, I am not connected in any manner with any of them and that the apprehension of Samuel Lee was purely a police matter such that the dragging of my name therein was irrelevant and impertinent, making said utterances highly suspect," the First Gentleman said in a statement.

Last March 5, operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s anti-smuggling unit arrested Lee, an alleged big-time smuggler, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The following day, Estrada said in an interview at the Senate that "he has received a lot of information that Lucio Co has connections with Atty. Mike Arroyo himself."

Mr. Arroyo said Estrada "purposely issued such statements with malice and for no apparent reason than to impress upon the minds of the people present during the interview that he was connected with" Lee and Co.

He added that Estrada’s statements, "which manifestly suggest a connection between the alleged smugglers and myself, picture me as being involved in alleged criminal activities."

The First Gentleman said Estrada’s move to distribute copies of the interview that contained "false statements and malicious innuendo" was not only unbecoming of a good senator but also vicious, considering the pain and injury it inflicted upon him and his family.

"Estrada’s verbal and printed statements have grossly maligned and put me in public contempt and ridicule and caused embarrassment and public humiliation to me and my family," Mr. Arroyo said.

He is seeking P10 million in damages against Estrada, which, if he wins the libel case, he promised to donate to a charitable institution.

Mr. Arroyo’s lawyer, Melanie Trinidad, said it is high time Estrada realizes that he cannot go on destroying the reputation of other people while hiding under the cloak of parliamentary immunity.

"Estrada deliberately made these malicious allegations against Mr. Arroyo without bothering to verify first with the Office of the First Gentleman or any other source," she said.

Trinidad added that Estrada "even had the guts to later admit, again through media, that he had no evidence to back up his allegations and that he had only lifted these from a newspaper column."

She also said that Estrada, "as if to complete his malicious attacks," even accused the First Gentleman’s eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, of having suspected smuggler Tina Vidal as among his campaign contributors.

"The imputations against the First Gentleman and his son are false. But Estrada made the libelous statements to impress upon the minds of the journalists that Mr. Arroyo is a protector and coddler of alleged big-time smugglers," Trinidad said.

She added that her client is not concerned if the attacks against him are politically motivated, but is more disturbed that his rights as a private citizen are being violated. — With Rhodina Villanueva