DOJ issues hold departure order vs Ogami, 10 others

The Department of Justice (DOJ) placed yesterday the names of alleged Japanese swindler Genta Ogami and 10 others reportedly involved in the controversial Unitrust Development Bank scandal in the hold departure list of the Bureau of Immigration.

"This will prevent responsible UDB directors, officers, stockholders from evading criminal investigation and prosecution of charges," Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said in a press statement.

Ogami fled the country even before the news of the UDB closure in November of last year and the collapse of his G. Cosmos Philippines company broke out.

Among those listed were Ogami’s aide Motohiko Hagisaka, Fujinori Tada, Hiyoshi Haneda, Winefredo Capilitan, Jose Apolinario, Daniel Quilatan, Elmer Magpantay, Marcelo Vasquez Jr., Evelyn Mansit and Lorena Oba.

Hagisaka, Capilitan and Apolinario are facing swindling charges before the justice department for allegedly violating banking laws when Ogami’s G. Cosmos Philippines firm obtained unauthorized loans from UDB amounting to P14 million last December.

Vasquez, Quilatan and Magpantay were utilized by probers of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as witnesses against the trio (Hagasaki et al) because they were the Unitrust board directors who were forced to approve the loan.

The other five – Ogami, Tada, Haneda, Mansit and Oba – are reportedly being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the basis of a complaint filed by the BSP and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The next DOJ hearing on the UDB caper will be on April 3. The case is being handled by State Prosecutors Lagrimas Agaran and Irwin Maraya. Apolinario and Capilitan are expected to submit their rebuttals to the charges filed by the BSP.

On March 7, Hagisaka told reporters that he was not to blame for the UDB closure since he was just following orders from his boss Ogami. "I only did what he (Ogami) said. It’s Japanese company style," he said in Nihonggo to a lady Japanese reporter.

BSP director Vicente Aquino told reporters the probe on Ogami’s modus operandi is still ongoing, adding that they haven’t determined the extent of culpability of the foreigner.

In its transmittal report to the DOJ, the BSP told prosecutors Capilitan obtained a P1-million personal loan last Dec. 19, or two days prior to his loan application, with Hagisaka "compelling" three UDB directors to approve the loan.

UDB directors Quilatan, Vasquez and Magpantay said there was no special meeting of UDB board and that "they were merely compelled by Hagisaka to sign the minutes of the meeting against their will."

The G. Cosmos board of directors, a stockholder of UDB, meantime, authorized the firm to secure a P27-million loan from UDB. On the same day, Cosmos and Capilitan applied for and obtained a P13-million loan.