Probe of Bro. Mike for plunder starts

The Office of the Ombudsman has started investigating the P1.2-billion plunder case against Catholic lay evangelist Mariano "Bro. Mike" Velarde, who was implicated along with ousted President Joseph Estrada and 15 other people in an alleged anomalous land deal.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said they found prima facie evidence in the complaint of lawyer Ernesto Francisco, who had accused the leader of the 10 million- strong El Shaddai Catholic charismatic group of involvement in the sale of "outrageously overpriced" land to the government.

"We have started the preliminary investigation into the plunder case involving the former president and Bro. Mike after our evaluation found prima facie evidence," Desierto said.

Francisco alleged that Velarde used his affiliation with Estrada as spiritual adviser to sell an eight-hectare lot in Parañaque for the C-5 road project. The deal, which was completed in 1999, involved Velarde’s AMVEL Land Development Corp.

The complainant said government lost some P828.6 million from the deal "since the agricultural land, which was originally acquired for only P2,000 per square meter in 1997, was sold for 15,355 per square meter."

AMVEL recently refuted the allegations in a one-page newspaper advertisement, saying it never offered the property for sale and that government forcibly acquired the land.

Francisco, however, further accused Velarde’s firm of lying.

"I would like to state for the record that AMVEL and its responsible officials are once again lying to the public," he said.

"The deeds of sale are the best proof that the properties were sold to the government," the lawyers said.