Sandiganbayan orders return of Disini's ill-gotten wealth

MANILA, Philippines - Finding the amount to be ill-gotten wealth, the Sandiganbayan yesterday ordered businessman Herminio Disini to return to the Philippine government the amount of $50,562,500 which he received as commissions from contractors of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) from 1976 to 1984.

The complaint was filed against Disini, an alleged crony of former President Ferdinand Marcos, in July 1987. The anti-graft court’s First Division also ordered the forfeiture of his questioned assets.

In its 52-page decision, the Sandiganbayan said the amount paid as commissions to Disini constitutes ill-gotten wealth as defined under paragraphs 2 and 6 of the charter of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

“The evidence presented by the Republic proves that Disini used his influence and close relationship with President Marcos to obtain and amass large amounts of money, which he subsequently stored in various accounts, among which were those in Swiss accounts,” the ruling said.

Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Efren de la Cruz concurred with the decision penned by First Division chairman Associate Justice Rafael Lagos, which even allows the government to collect interest until the whole amount is settled.

The Sandiganbayan’s ruling was anchored mainly on the testimonies of PCGG witnesses Rodolfo Jacob, Angelo Manahan, Rafael Sison and Jesus Vergara.

Jacob, president of the Herdis (HERminio DISini) Group of Companies in 1975, told the anti-graft court during trial that Disini brokered the BNPP deal so that Westinghouse Electric Corp. would be awarded the contract to build the nuclear power plant while Burns and Roe was awarded the engineering and design aspect.

Sison, a former member of the Board of Governors of the Development Bank of the Philippines, testified that the DBP extended guarantees to loans drawn by Disini’s firms supposedly upon the instructions of former president Marcos while Vergara was a former representative of Westinghouse who introduced Disini to the contractor.

Records show that Manahan, as former vice president of Herdis Group, also executed an affidavit dated Jan. 26, 1989 detailing the allegedly close relationship between Marcos and Disini.

“Marcos’ participation in the Westinghouse transaction was driven by his own interest in the matter. It would not be stretching one’s imagination too much to assume that they hoped to profit from the deal,” the Sandiganbayan said. – Michael Punongbayan, Jess Diaz, Eva Visperas