Isabela mayor names Marcos gold broker

Who he?

A town mayor in Isabela province pointed yesterday to a certain Gregorio Cadhit as the bagman and "manager" of some $65 billion-worth of gold bullion of businessman Gregorio "Greggy" Araneta III and his wife Irene Marcos.

However, the couple denied knowing Cadhit.

"We do not know him," said their lawyer Robert Sison. "If there are any leads to find him, let us know because we will cause his prosecution for maligning the Aranetas."

Testifying before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Ramona, Isabela Mayor Renato Marcos Vizcarra claimed that Cadhit is actually a gold broker.

"He is the one who sells the gold belonging to Greggy and Irene. The proceeds of the sale would then be deposited in various banks in Hong Kong, New York, Australia, among other countries," Vizcarra said.

Asked by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel why he came out in the open, Vizcarra said he is "bothered by his conscience."

"I want to help the government recover the so-called Marcos wealth so that it can be returned to the people," he said.

Pimentel described Vizcarra's revelation as a breakthrough in the Senate's search for the fabled Marcos wealth.

"At least, we can now pinpoint personalities whom we could ask about the Marcos wealth," said Pimentel, the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

The town mayor told the committee that he met Cadhit before the 1998 presidential and local elections, when he was asked by the gold broker to include a certain Fred Tabag to run as councilor in his ticket.

After winning the polls, Vizcarra said he learned that Tabag was Cadhit's co-signatory in a Metrobank bank account, where they withdrew as much as P10 million a day.

"I later learned that Cadhit was working for Greggy Araneta and he was responsible for managing the Marcos gold in Australia, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong and the United States," the mayor said.

Once, Vizcarra said he accompanied Cadhit to a bank in Hong Kong, where he was shown a computer printout which indicated that the supposed gold broker had deposits amounting to $4 billion.

"Cadhit keeps a small blue book where the detailed expenses are listed," Vizcarra said.

The mayor also claimed that Cadhit personally knows former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

However, a member of the Marcos widow's household staff denied hearing about Cadhit nor seeing such a name in their guest lists.

"We do not even have records or documents that contain Cadhit's name," he said.

Vizcarra told the committee that Cadhit estimated the Marcos wealth to reach $65 billion.

The mayor said his relationship with Cadhit turned sour when the alleged gold broker tried to impose his will on how Ramona town would be run.

Cadhit wanted to introduce gambling and other illegal activities there, Vizcarra said.

Pimentel said he will summon Cadhit to appear before the committee. He also asked the Bureau of Immigration to stop the alleged gold broker from leaving the country.

"Gregorio Cadhit is wanted by this committee," he said.

"Cadhit needs to give us some light about the allegations of Mayor Vizcarra that he is involved in various gold transactions belonging to Greggy and Irene," Pimentel said.

In a related development, Pimentel urged Australian wealth hunter Rainer Jacobi to fly to Manila to testify on the alleged Marcos loot, instead of giving his deposition in Sydney, Australia.

Pimentel said this will solve, once and for all, the difficulty of arranging Jacobi's testimony which has impeded the committee's inquiry into the alleged ill-gotten wealth.

He issued the statement in response to the concerns of former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez about the delay in the committee's probe.

According to Chavez, Jacobi fears for his life when he goes to Manila.

"If Jacob's life is truly threatened, which is something that is still to be verified, then perhaps the Philippine National Police could assure his safety and handle his security while he testifies before the committee in Manila," Pimentel said.

On the original plan to hold the hearing in Sydney, Pimentel said the difficulty was getting a mutually convenient date for the Australian witness and for the senators to hold the hearing.

Previous attempts to do so have proven unsuccessful," he said.

"Twice, the senators were ready to go to Australia but Jacobi and his witnesses were either not yet ready with their documentary evidence or they were preoccupied with some other matters or so we were told. And when he was reportedly ready, the senators already had other pressing engagements," Pimentel said.

At Malacañang, a Palace official said it is already too late for Mrs. Marcos to strike a compromise deal with human rights victims.

Even if the government agrees to such a pact, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora doubted if a settlement could be reached before the Feb. 14 deadline set by the US District Court of Hawaii.

Lawyers of the Marcos widow proposed that the $150 million settlement be taken from the $630 million escrow account.