What went wrong

Friendship and business do not make for good bed partners.

 Case in point? That of a company called C&F which started with importing and selling equipment for trap and skeet shooting, an Olympic event, and has since then expanded into being the official distributor of Beretta guns in the Philippines.

Clifford Lichaytoo of the Bacchus Food and Wine business, together with Raul Arambulo and Adam Jimenez incorporated C&F out of their common hobby of shooting flying clay targets with shotguns. But being more of a pastime rather than a full time business, financial accounting and bookkeeping was not rigorously maintained.

C&F was capitalized at a P625,000 but has grown leaps and bounds, now with an inventory worth P20 million. According to Lichaytoo, his family was the one who provided the company with the majority of resources to finance the acquisition of said inventory, and, in general, its business operations. In 2005 alone, he says a total of P21.8 million was advanced by them to finance various importations.

Since the Lichaytoos were busy with their main business which is Bacchus, it was agreed then that Arambulo be the president of C&F from the time of its incorporation in 2004 up to the present and as such, Arambulo exercised general supervision over C&F including the cash flow and cash position of the company.

This arrangement, Lichaytoo said, was part of the reason why they agreed to the venture since Arambulo and Jimenez represented that they knew the market and are able to procure the required licenses and permits. The Lichaytoos however were responsible, with their European connections, for getting the Berreta licensing deal.

In their answer to a complaint for estafa filed by his business partners, Lichaytoo explains that Arambulo and Jimenez cannot deny prior knowledge of and agreement to the bank accounts maintained in the former’s name to which the funds of C&F were deposited as they had in fact received payments drawn from said accounts. 

Another bank account was opened in Arambulo’s name to which certain amounts were likewise deposited, a matter which was left out in Arambulo’s complaint, Lichaytoo argues.

As the sales and profits of C&F continued to grow, the business which was originally perceived as a mere pastime turned out to be a lucrative business and the complainants filed the instant complaint to force the Lichaytoos to turn over complete control of C&F to them, it was added.

This, Lichaytoo said, is an intra-corporate dispute but complainant has instead twisted the facts to make it appear that a crime was committed to harass the Lichaytoos into surrendering the business to them.

Lichaytoo adds that the financial integrity of C&F was never at any time prejudiced as own by the audited financial statements. 

In the complaint for estafa filed against the Lichaytoos, it was alleged that the latter received checks and cash intended for C&F and payable to the Lichaytoos, and subsequently deposited in the Lichaytoo account.

Lichaytoo claims that the mere act of depositing cash and checks to the questioned accounts does not in itself constitute estafa, since complainants were aware of the said accounts and the deposits and disbursements therefrom were all accounted for.

On the alleged misappropriation of about P7 million in company funds, Lichaytoo says that since it was their group which advance more than P20 million to the company to finance the purchase of inventory, it does not make sense for them to misappropriate funds which them themselves provided.

He adds that the funds of C&F remain intact in the bank accounts of C&F and any disbursements made were for legitimate corporate and operational expenses of C&F and repayment of advances.

The absence of demand by the complainants further negates the allegation of estafa, Lichaytoo adds.

Apology in order

Sandiganbayan Associate Justice and chairperson of the fifth division Cristina Cortez-Estrada wrote to us, pointing out that the case involving Rodriguez, Rizal town mayor Pedro Cuerpo is pending before the first division, and not the fifth division. According to the good Justice, a correction should immediately be made especially since there were insinuations that the inaction in said case was due to political pressure. This, she said, is greatly unfair to the members of the fifth division who were unjustly dragged into this controversy because of our “inaccurate” reporting of the facts of Cuerpo’s case. She added that in the wake of what has recently happened to the Court of Appeals, such “irresponsible reporting” will greatly affect the public’s perception on the Sandiganbayan’s independence and integrity. Point well taken and our sincere apologies.

Not so hidden agenda

The Arellano University School of Law forensic guild won against the Ateneo law debating team in the semi-final round of the ANC Square off: The CVC Law debates last Sept. 24 with the proposition that there is a need to scrap the countryside development fund (CDF), Arellano on the affirmative side.

With this victory, the Arellano team is now on the waiting list for the finals/ championship round against either Saint Louis University of Baguio or Ateneo de Davao University who will still battle it out for the last remaining finals slot on Oct. 1.

Arellano won in the eliminations round against San Sebastian debating team and in the semi-finals against UST. Arellano’s debating team include Rochelle Marie Roxas and -Luis Anthony Warren, both fourth year students, and Charles Francis Decangchon, a freshman.

The final square-off is scheduled on Oct. 8 at the ANC studio, ABS-CBN compound.

“Square Off,” ANC’s top-rating TV debate show, raises the bar for intelligent entertainment programming with an exciting new tournament as its latest season offering. 

“Square Off: The CVC Law Debates” features teams from the country’s top law schools - including classic archrivals Ateneo and UP Diliman - battling it out for prestigious prizes and the honor of being recognized as the best in the land. The  tournament format is designed to showcase not only the debaters’ advocacy skills and their powers of persuasion, but also the art of cross-examination. Boosting the “fear factor” element of the competition are famous legal luminaries and actual trial court judges who serve as adjudicators throughout the tournament.

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