Sandiganbayan orders POTC to turn over P150-M cash dividends

The Sandiganbayan Third Division recently ordered the Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp (POTC) to turn over to the anti-graft court the cash dividends amounting to P150.61 million payable to government-sequestered shares which were retained by the telecoms firm.

In a 23-page Resolution issued last Dec. 7, the Sandiganbayan upheld the sequestration by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) of shareholder Polygon Investors and Managers Inc. and declared that the government is right to demand that the dividends be turned over to the court for safekeeping.

PCGG earlier seized the firm along with several other business interests of businessman Jose Africa, on allegations that they were partly-funded from the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.

In the same resolution, the Sandiganbayan overruled Polygon’s claim that it is the proper repository of the stock earnings.

“We hold that the sequestration of Polygon is valid. Hence it is just proper that its dividends just like that of the other sequestered corporations be put under the custody of this court is an escrow account at the Land Bank of the Philippines until its rightful owner is determined,” the Sandiganbayan said in its  Resolution.

Lawyers from the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) reported in June 2006 that two other firms controlled by the Africa family — Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (ETPI) and the Oceanic Wireless Network Inc. (OWNI) – turned over to the court P547.29 million and P52.72 million, respectively, representing the firms’ share earnings as of March 31, 2006.

The Government has a 34.9 percent stake in POTC but only 22 percent is under sequestration.

The PCGG said the total government stake could reach up to  P1.41 billion when sold.

However, the Senate has recommended that disposition of the POTC stake be handled by the Privatization and Management Office.