SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The regional trial court here has ordered the arrest of architect and Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) chairman Nestor Mangio and his wife for five counts of estafa over a land controversy in his upscale Lakeshore estate in Mexico town.
Judge Serafin David of RTC Branch 48 affirmed the state prosecutor’s resolution in July last year finding probable cause in the charges filed against Mangio and his wife Marion by former provincial board member Robert David.
The arrest warrants are expected to be served today, but the Mangios may bail of P40,000 for each count of estafa. David has set the couple’s arraignment on May 27.
In his resolution, state prosecutor John Renado noted that David, in his complaint, entrusted to Mangio duplicate copies of three land titles in Barangay Camuning, Mexico town to “verify their exact location” with the register of deeds, as the properties were near the Lakeshore estate, before David left for the United States in November 2003.
David said he owned the parcels of land measuring 59,675 square meters.
In his affidavit, David said that when he returned home in 2006, he found out that the Mangios had allegedly cancelled the land titles and that new ones were issued under their names.
He said three “falsified” deeds of absolute sale were dated Feb. 2, 2004, with the first two titles stipulating P100,000 each as cost and the third only P50,000.
“He (David) could not have executed or signed any of the said falsified deeds of absolute sale on Feb. 2, 2004, much less in San Fernando, Pampanga, or appeared before notary public Crescente Caladiao because he was in the United States at that time as shown by his passport,” Renado’s resolution stated.
The prosecutor also noted disparities between David’s alleged signatures on the land documents and “his real and genuine signatures.”
David claimed that he suffered “actual damages in the aggregate amount of P29,837,500.”
In a text message to The STAR, Mangio said the charges were “baseless and pure harassment.”
“I welcome this development because this will give us our day in court to hear our side,” he said.
“I am confident we will win this case because we never forged Mr. David’s signature. We paid him tens of millions (of pesos) and he voluntarily gave us his titles,” he added.
Mangio said they have all the checks and an authentication by the Philippine National Police of David’s signatures.