SyCip son, others deny estafa claim

MANILA, Philippines — Executives of tuna canning firm Alliance Select Foods International Inc. have posted bail before the Makati regional trial court over an estafa case.

The accused – led by businessman George SyCip, son of the late tycoon Washington SyCip – posted P120,000 each before Makati RTC Branch 57 last week.

Alliance board of directors Jonathan Dee, Alvin Dee and Joanna Dee-Laurel have also posted bail before the court in the same case.

In a statement sent to The STAR, the Dee siblings expressed confidence that they would be cleared in the case after trial.

“We are confident that the facts will bear out our innocence, and that this will hopefully lead to the eventual dismissal of the complaint,” they stressed.

The Alliance officials debunked the allegation that the funds invested in the company had been involved in illegal transactions.   

 They pointed out that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Manila prosecutor’s office had previously dismissed for lack of merit similar charges hurled by private complainant Hedy Yap Chua.

 They vowed to once again disprove Chua’s insinuations in the trial before the Makati RTC.

The DOJ earlier indicted SyCip and other Alliance officers for estafa through a complaint filed by Alliance’s foreign shareholders led by Chua. 

The DOJ alleged that the accused improperly used the complainants’ investments in the company to engage in supposedly illegal activities and transactions.

The accused allegedly enticed the complainants in January 2009 to invest their money amounting to more than P75 million, more than $65,000 and another P4 million, by making it appear that Alliance was a financially rewarding company.

The complainants accused SyCip and other of  employing false pretenses that Alliance was a lucrative business.