Gatchalian back from HK, willing to testify

Presidential friend and plastics mogul William Gatchalian denied allegations that he fled the country to avoid being summoned as a witness in Mr. Estrada’s ongoing impeachment trial at the Senate.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival from Hong Kong late Saturday night, Gatchalian said he will make himself available to testify in the impeachment trial once he is summoned.

Gatchalian, who is presidential adviser on migrant workers, left with his wife Deehua for Hong Kong on Thursday, raising speculations that he had fled the country.

"I went to Hong Kong purely on business," he told reporters at the airport. "I also had to attend to the problems of our countrymen who are working overseas."

He said he had been regularly shuttling between Manila and Hong Kong but his trips were not noticed until this last trip, which was linked to presidential mistress Laarni Enriquez.

While officials on Thursday tried to serve a subpoena for Enriquez to appear before the Senate tribunal, she flew to Hong Kong on a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight which also carried a townmate of President Estrada who had P6 million in cash in his traveling bag.

Authorities suspected that the money was meant for Enriquez, who was also rumored to be traveling with Gatchalian and controversial stockbroker Willie Ocier.

But Gatchalian expressed surprise that his trip was linked to Enriquez since they took separate flights. Gatchalian said he took PAL Flight PR 300 while Enriquez was on Flight PR 302.

"I haven’t seen Laarni for a long time," said Gatchalian, denying knowledge that Enriquez was even bound for Hong Kong on the same day.

Gatchalian did not comment on traveling on the same flight with Ocier whose name also cropped up during the testimony of former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu.

Ocier, a known Chinatown stockbroker, is also a top official of listed gaming firm Belle Corp. which used to have businessman and presidential friend Jaime Dichaves as board member.

Espiritu had also testified before the Senate tribunal that Mr. Estrada admitted in 1999 that he had made a lot of money from his holdings in the listed gaming firm Best World (BW) Resources Corp.

Stock market analysts said Ocier is reputed in the stock market as among those allegedly responsible for the plunge of prices of BW stocks last year, almost causing the collapse of the local bourse.

Dichaves, on the other hand, has claimed to be the true owner of the Jose Velarde account with Equitable-PCI Bank, which was used to lend some P500 million to Gatchalian.

But impeachment prosecutors claim the controversial account is actually owned by the President because Equitable-PCI Bank executive Clarissa Ocampo testified that she witnessed Mr. Estrada sign bank documents using the name Jose Velarde.