No whitewash in Dante Ang’s case, NBI assures public

There will be no whitewash in the case of presidential publicist and businessman Dante Ang, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assured the people yesterday.

"We will investigate the case based on the evidence we gather," said an NBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, when asked by The STAR if they have ever received a call from the Palace regarding Ang’s case, the NBI official refused to give a categorical answer, saying "everybody knows Dante Ang, his name is almost synonymous with PGMA (President Arroyo)."

The official said Ang, through his lawyer, pledged yesterday to "answer intelligently and point-by-point" the alleged estafa, fraud and harassment charges against Bankwise, of which he is the new chairman.

Ang’s lawyer went to the NBI yesterday — a day earlier than expected — to get a copy of the complaints by the Philippine Retirement Authority Members Association (Prama), represented by retired lawyer Ramon Collado, who had filed charges after Bankwise refused to let him withdraw his money from the bank.

Prama is an association of foreign retirees "invited" by the government to spend their golden years in the country.

In connection with Collado’s complaint, which has also been filed with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the NBI summoned for questioning Ang and other officials of Bankwise, Prama and Philippine Leisure Retirement Authority (PLRA) to shed light on the allegations.

Collado claimed that he, Prama and the Civil Society Foundation were fleeced of more than P16.551 million by Bankwise, which he claimed has been juggling the funds of depositors. He accused Bankwise of unauthorized transfer of funds.

Ang, through investment firm Seed Capital Inc., acquired 60 percent of Bankwise from Wise Corp. for a total of P250 million. He shelled out P50 million of the acquisition cost, which means he owns 12 percent of the bank.

Prama and PLRA made Bankwise their depository bank and are entitled to a percentage of the interest generated by deposits.

Ang said that according to bank records, Prama finance officer Roca Mipana wrote Bankwise on July 17 asking the bank to credit Collado’s deposit in favor of Seed Capital. This was duly noted by Collado himself.

Another letter dated Aug. 12, again signed by Mipana, was sent to the bank asking that a total of P2 million from Collado’s placement with Seed Capital be withdrawn. The request could not be accommodated since the placement was made in Seed Capital and not Prama, Ang said.

The NBI expects Ang’s group to submit their counter-affidavit either on Friday or Monday.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday that it has yet to schedule a hearing on the deportation case against Collado, a Belizean national, because he has yet to answer charges for which he is undergoing preliminary investigation.

Belize, previously known as British Honduras, lies on the East Coast of Central America, bordering Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and flanked by the Caribbean Sea to the east.

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo said that Collado, who is detained at the BI detention center in Bicutan, was arrested for illegally working in the country and that his arrest and subsequent detention has no connection at all with the Bankwise controversy.

Domingo said that if Ang files charges against Collado for "spreading damaging, false and malicious information" about Bankwise, then Collado’s deportation would have to wait until the court has resolved the issue.

Ang has written Domingo to hold Collado’s deportation in abeyance, saying that "Mr. Collado cannot leave, and must not leave the country without substantiating the charges against us... we will slap him with a costly libel case. He will have to answer for civil and moral damages."

While Collado claimed that he is in jail for filing a complaint with the BSP, Domingo pointed out that Collado was arrested Oct. 14 — before the Bankwise controversy reached the media — because his visa was canceled upon the recommendation of the PLRA.

In a letter to Domingo, PLRA officer-in-charge Erlinda Lozada said that Collado violated the rules of the Department of Labor and Employment on retirees’ visas for not applying for a work permit, being a holder of an executive and supervisory position as head of Prama.