Sandigan summons Land Bank head

Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) president Margarito Teves has been ordered to explain to the Sandiganbayan how P26 million from the controversial "Jose Velarde" account linked to ousted President Joseph Estrada was allegedly transferred to the government-owned bank.

Sandiganbayan Sheriff Ed Urieta has served a second notice of garnishment to Teves after he failed to reply to the first notice.

Urieta has given Teves five days to inform the anti-graft court on what action the bank has taken or he would be summoned before the special division to testify in Estrada’s plunder trial.

Meanwhile, San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday to revoke the trust license of the Export and Industry Bank (EIB) for allegedly violating the Bank Secrecy Law.

In filing the administrative case, Ejercito, a son of Estrada, said the bank officials should be sanctioned for disclosing his accounts to prosecutors in his father’s plunder case.

Earlier, Urieta said Teves should "not deliver, transfer or otherwise dispose of such property in your possession to any person or entity except to the undersigned," as the Sandiganbayan’s implementing arm.

Prosecutors said the P26 million was part of the P4.1 billion contained in the "Jose Velarde" account at Equitable PCI Bank, which Estrada had allegedly amassed during his more than two years in office.

The Special Division ordered the paper trail after Equitable declared that only P2,770 had been left in the account.

Businessman Jaime Dichaves, an Estrada associate, claimed to own the "Jose Velarde" account but he fled to the United States after Estrada was driven out office in a military-backed uprising on Jan. 20, 2001. – Delon Porcalla, Des Ferriols