‘P242-M Malampaya kickback for Ruby’

Jinggoy: Witnesses amassed wealth

MANILA, Philippines - After promising to return P40 million in lawmakers’ pork barrel funds she claimed to have pocketed, potential state witness Ruby Tuason should also be made to account for more than P200 million in Malampaya funds, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said yesterday.

In a privilege speech, Estrada revealed that Tuason got as much as P242 million in Malampaya funds, which she later used for a real estate buying spree in the United States.

Estrada called his speech “The Tale of Two Incredible Witnesses.” He was referring to Tuason and Technology Resource Center (TRC) director on-leave Dennis Cunanan.

Yesterday was the last day of the Senate session before the Holy Week break.

Apart from her house in Makati’s exclusive Dasmariñas Village, Tuason reportedly has a real estate property at the Las Vegas Country Club, which she bought for P6.3 million in 2008.  Tuason also reportedly bought another property in Oakland, California worth $150,000.

The Las Vegas property was transferred to one of Tuason’s sons, Francis, right after the exposé on the pork barrel scam in September last year – or about the same time Tuason flew to the United States to evade charges.

The other property in California was sold also in September last year. She had bought properties in Kawayan Cove in Cavite, a townhouse unit in Alabang and another townhouse in Valle Verde.

In his speech, Estrada said Tuason built the so-called “Malampaya mansion” at 1510 Carissa Street, Dasmariñas Village in Makati City, using her commissions from multimillion-peso Malampaya transactions.

“Mrs. Tuason does not need to go abroad to gather P40 million… Her posh and expensive house and lot in Dasmariñas Village… known as the Malampaya mansion would be more than enough to finance the measly P40 million she said she wanted to return (to the government),” Estrada said in Filipino.

Citing documents, Estrada said Tuason was able to buy the so-called Malampaya mansion in 2009 for P45 million. “The house was dubbed as the Malampaya mansion by people close to Mrs. Tuason because it was the fruit of her Malampaya kickbacks,” he said.  

Apart from the Malampaya mansion, Estrada said Tuason also used P80 million of her commissions as seed money for a corporation she started along with her two sons also in October 2009. The firm was supposed to be engaged in micro-business.

Tuason then put up a high-end jewelry store at a plush hotel in Pasay City in August last year, which is managed by her niece, Jocelyn. “Easily, this investment again is worth so many millions, Mr. President,” Estrada said.

Estrada also scored Tuason for her purchase of membership shares at the Manila Polo Club for her two sons, which was estimated at P12 million.

“Given all of these, my question Mr. President, is: Did Justice Secretary Leila de Lima accept Mrs. Tuason as witness without any background investigation especially after she claimed that her late brother, Remi Chan, made commissions out of the P242 million from the Malampaya fund?” he asked in Filipino.

“It was all too clever and very convenient for Mrs. Tuason to put all the blame and guilt on her dead brother isn’t it? As the known idiomatic expression goes -- ‘dead men tell no tales’,” Estrada said.

Estrada slammed Tuason for claiming she needed to sell her Dasmariñas Village residence to raise the P40 million that she promised to return to the government. She supposedly had amassed the P40 million as kickbacks from Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) projects in 2008.

Estrada also accused De Lima of giving too much credit to Tuason who was even allowed leave again for the United States.

“Let me take this opportunity to expose this witness, that the DOJ may rethink and reconsider its policy of picking stray cats just to build its case,” Estrada said.

“Lest the public continue to be deceived by the so-called slam-dunk evidence proffered by Mrs. Tuason, I would just like to bring her back to public attention because I am also wondering why she was allowed to silently and stealthily leave the country last week on a flimsy pretense of attending to some personal matters,” Estrada added.

Estrada is a respondent in a plunder complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam, along with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr.

“What further lies could she concoct while enjoying the comfort and privilege of being wherever she wants to be abroad?” he asked in his speech.

The senator said he is wondering how Tuason could have managed to travel first class or business class.  “Who paid for her ticket? Who is financing her travel and stay abroad?” 

Credibility questioned

On Cunanan, Estrada said the TRC head had shown his propensity to lie way back in his student days at the University of the Philippines where he was an undergraduate.

Estrada did not discount the possibility that Cunanan was lying about the true ownership of the house in White Plains, Quezon City where the TRC executive lives with his family. Cunanan claimed the house was his brother Darius’.

Estrada showed a copy of the income tax return of Darius in 2007 showing he did not have the financial capability to buy the house.

A deed of sale, produced by the senator’s office, revealed that the White Plains property was bought for P12 million.

Darius’ ITR reflected that his income from a business that year was pegged at P104,000.

Estrada contradicted Dennis’ claims that the QC house was purchased through a bank loan. Based on a deed of sale dated June 11, 2007, the house was paid in cash.

Estrada also said a bank loan made by Dennis Cunanan showed that the White Plains property was used as collateral on June 21 or barely 10 days after the property was purchased.

The bank loan was used as capital for the “Magalang Ciudad Enterprises Inc,” in August 2007 where the TRC official was a majority stockholder.

Estrada also cited immigration records showing that Cunanan had traveled abroad 80 times in a span of eight years.

In majority of the trips, Cunanan – known as Decu among his close pals – traveled with his wife and at times with his family. He traveled business class or first class, the senator added.

Estrada again belied reports that Cunanan had talked to him over the phone in 2008 to verify the signatures in the documents endorsing funding for dubious organizations of alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

Special treatment

 Estrada said it was evident that his accusers were getting preferential treatment. “Is this very special treatment part and parcel of the concessions given to them in exchange for their agreement to pin us down? Is this VIP treatment in exchange for a fabricated story that Ruby Tuason delivered money to me through the basement parking of the Senate?” 

Estrada again criticized the DOJ for spending people’s money on the Witness Protection Program for witnesses who cannot even be honest about educational background. He was apparently referring to Cunanan.

He also took a swipe at a colleague whom he accused of using the pork barrel scam to further his ambition to run for president in 2016. Estrada slammed the “senator” for even proposing the creation of a special court or division to try the PDAF cases for speedy resolution of the cases.

“This is a glaring proof that he is just using this PDAF controversy to advance his own political agenda,” Estrada said.

He did not name Sen. Alan Cayetano but the latter stood up shortly after Estrada’s speech to interpellate.

Cayetano denied taking advantage of Estrada’s plight, explaining during interpellation that he merely has been doing his job to fight corruption.

Estrada reiterated he would only answer the charges in a counter-affidavit he filed before the Ombudsman. “And I will defend myself before the Sandiganbayan in the unfortunate event that an information is filed before it,” the senator said.

No Ruby on CCTV

Meanwhile, CCTV recording of Senate premises in 2008 submitted by Jose Balajadia, head of the Senate Office Sergeant-at-arms  (OSAA), showed no images of Tuason carrying duffel bags supposedly containing millions of pesos to be delivered to Estrada.

“Take note, no duffle bags,” Estrada said as he showed screenshots of the OSAA’s footage of Tuason’s visits in November and December 2008.

“Now Mr. President, it can be recalled that she mentioned transactions about my PDAF allocation and that I got commissions,” Estrada said.

Tuason had testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee last February 13 that she delivered pork barrel commissions for Estrada at his Senate offices.

The supposed payoffs happened on March 6, Sept. 17, October 16 and 28 – all in 2008, Estrada pointed out.

The CCTV footage showed Tuason visited the Senate between November and December 2008. 

Tuason properties,  according to Jinggoy

 â€¢  The “Malampaya mansion” – This residence at 1510 Carissa street, Dasmariñas Village in Makati City, according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, was purchased for P45 million and titled in 2009

• Rubysons Inc. – Based on records of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tuason and her two sons set up the P80-million capitalized corporation engaged in micro-business activities in 2009

 â€¢ High-end jewelry store at a hotel-casino in Pasay City – The store is managed by Tuason’s niece, Jocelyn

 â€¢  Manila Polo Club shares  said to be worth P12-million

 â€¢  Property at Las Vegas Country Club worth P6.3 million – The property, acquired in 2008, was allegedly transferred to the name of Tuason’s son, Francis, in September 2013

• Property in  Oakland, California worth $150,000

• House in Neverson, Nevada

• House in Kawayan Cove, Cavite

• Townhouse unit in Alabang

• Townhouse unit in Valle Verde