Philcomsat stockholders want gov’t appointees replaced

The group led by Erlinda Bildner has appealed to the government to replace its representatives on the board of Philcomsat Holdings Corp. (PHC) to stop the continued financial bleeding of the listed telecommunications firm.

Bildner, president of Philippine Communications Satellite which owns 81 percent of PHC, accused the government nominees of taking part in the "looting" of PHC and its sister companies by showering themselves with fat salaries and allowances.

"Using fraudulent schemes and machinations, the group led by Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) nominee Enrique Locsin and Philip Brodett, represented themselves to be the valid PHC directors and Philcomsat majority shareholders. They have misappropriated company funds and arrogated unto themselves cash in the tens of millions, allowing them to lead opulent lifestyles, buying luxurious cars and grandiose houses. Their overall fraud is leading to Philcomsat and PHC’s inevitable bankruptcy," Bildner told reporters yesterday.

Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, for her part, said the group would like to call on the government to change its nominees on the board of PHC in the spirit of good governance.

At least five government nominees who served in the boards of PHC, Philcomsat and Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp. (POTC) told a Senate hearing last year that they have received salaries as high as P150,000 a month and P500,000 worth of "public relations and representation" allowance.

The PCGG, the government agency tasked to recover ill-gotten wealth during the Marcos era, owns 35 percent of POTC, which in turn owns 100 percent of Philcomsat.

The remaining 65 percent of Philcomsat is owned by private shareholder groups: the Africa group (7.1 percent), Benedicto (7.1 percent), Ponce-Enrile (6.6 percent), Ilusorio (18.1 percent), Nieto (13.1 percent) and Poblador (12.4 percent).

Bildner said her group has also requested banks where PHC has an account to freeze any withdrawal transactions to preserve whatever money is left.

She said the group’s objective is to bring normalcy back to PHC’s operations and to conduct a shareholders’ meeting this year, which the company had failed to do in the past several years.

The PCGG earlier said the proper tribunal to supervise the annual elections for the three companies is the Sandiganbayan.

Bildner said they have filed a motion to lift an order issued by the Court of Appeals preventing her group from sitting as directors of PHC. "The TRO was issued two days following the implementation of the Makati RTC ruling validating the election of our group," she said.

She said the other individuals comprising the PCGG-led group: Julio Jalandoni, Manuel Andal, Luis Lokin Jr., Roberto San Jose, Benito Araneta, and Roberto Abad, do not own shares in PHC "but managed to loot the company by lying with impunity whenever it is convenient.

They have mislead their own lawyers and all the courts into issuing decisions, orders, particularly TROs in their favor, so that they can continue on with their evil plans."