In an 87-page memorandum filed through his lawyer, Estelito Mendoza, Cojuangco sought to reverse a March 14, 2002 ruling of the Sandiganbayan’s fourth division declaring that his shares are part of the ill-gotten wealth amassed by the late President Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
Cojuangco said the government was "unable to state" how the Marcos couple "became the owners of the Bulletin shares," whether the late Hans Menzi sold them the shares, voluntarily gave the shares to them for free, or took the shares from him against his will.
Cojuangco said the government also failed to allege, much less prove, that government funds or funds belonging to the government were used to acquire the Bulletin shares.
"Even assuming that the shares of stock in Bulletin subject of Civil Case No. 0022 are owned by the Marcoses, no loss or injury on the part of the republic on account of such ownership has been alleged or proven," he said.
Because of this, Cojuangco said that the government is not entitled to the actual damages it is seeking against him. He also contended that since the government is a "juridical person," it is not entitled to moral damages.
He added that the government could not be awarded exemplary damages because there is "a complete dearth of evidence" that he acted in bad faith or in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive or malevolent manner.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) wants the Supreme Court to order Cojuangco to pay actual, temperate and nominal damages to be determined by the tribunal; P50 billion in moral damages; and attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, judicial costs and exemplary damages amounting to P1 billion.
The Sandiganbayan ruled in 2002 that the PCGG is the legal owner of Cojuangco’s Bulletin shares.
The anti-graft court also declared that the 198,052.5 Bulletin shares were broken down into 90,877 shares owned by Cojuangco, while Marcos cronies Jose Campos had 90,866.5 shares and Cesar Zalamea had 16,309 shares.
These particular shares — which were transferred to HM Holdings and Management Inc. on Aug. 17, 1983 and were later sold to Bulletin on Feb. 21, 1986 — are part of the Marcos couple’s ill-gotten wealth, according to the Sandiganbayan.
The anti-graft court also forfeited in favor of the government the proceeds from the sale of these shares, amounting to P19.39 million plus interest earned. This amount was put in a Philtrust Bank time deposit account opened on March 3, 1986.
As of Feb. 28, 2002, the amount has ballooned to P105 million. Philtrust has filed a motion with the Supreme Court to consign the proceeds of the time deposit of HM Holdings.
The Sandiganbayan also ordered Menzi’s estate, through its executor Manuel Montecillo, to surrender for cancellation the original eight
Bulletin certificates of stocks in its possession, which are part of the 214,424.5 Bulletin shares.
Cojuangco also asked the Supreme Court to declare that he is the rightful owner of all the cash and stock dividends that were accrued in favor of his 46,626 Bulletin shares from Oct. 15, 1987 and to order the PCGG to return the cash deposit of P8.17 million plus interest earnings to Bulletin.
In an effort to prove that his 46,626 Bulletin shares are not part of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth, Cojuangco said that prior to 1957, Bulletin was owned and controlled by Carson Taylor, its American founder and owner.
Cojuangco said that in 1957, Menzi — through his wholly owned company Menzi and Co. — acquired Taylor’s interest in Bulletin.
He added that in 1961, Menzi transferred 20 percent of his holdings in Bulletin to Emilio Yap, one of his co-defendants in the case.
Menzi, according to Cojuangco, transferred stock shares to him, Campos and Zalamea from the remaining 80 percent of his holdings in Bulletin.
Cojuangco said the shares that remained in Menzi’s name, as well as those transferred to himself, Campos and Zalamea, earned stock dividends and the shares left with Menzi grew to 154,472 shares, while the shares registered in his name, Campos and Zalamea, grew to a total of 412,477 shares.
On Aug. 17, 1983, Cojuangco said he, Campos and Zalamea jointly transferred 198,052.5 out of the 412,477 shares registered in their names to HM Holdings, a company owned by Menzi. This was evidenced by a deed of transfer and conveyance dated the same day.
Through a letter dated Jan. 15, 1986, the law firm Siguion Reyna Montecillo and Ongsiako, as counsel for HM Holdings, transmitted the stock certificates covering these shares to Bulletin’s corporate secretary. The law firm requested that these certificates be canceled and new ones issued in the name of HM Holdings.
Bulletin’s corporate secretary, however, refused to register the transfer and issue HM Holdings new certificates. In a letter dated Jan. 16, 1986, the official said the transfer violated restrictions and limitations on the transfer of the company’s shares by its stockholders.
At the same time, Bulletin offered to purchase these shares at book value, which was accepted by HM Holdings. In a deed of absolute sale dated Feb. 21, 1986, HM Holdings sold these shares to Bulletin for P23.67 million.
Even with the sale, Cojuangco still had 46,626 shares in Bulletin, Zalamea had 121,178 and Campos retained 46,620.5 shares.
At the time of Menzi’s death on June 27, 1984, he had only one share in Bulletin registered in his name.
It was on April 22, 1986, that the PCGG issued a writ of sequestration covering the 214,424.5 Bulletin shares registered in the names of Cojuangco, Zalamea and Campos.
On July 29, 1987, the PCGG filed Civil Case No. 0022 with the Sandiganbayan. In filing the civil suit against Cojuangco, the PCGG charged that Cojuangco acted as a dummy, nominee or agent of the Marcos couple and later acquired the 46,626 shares in Bulletin.
The PCGG said Cojuangco, Zalamea and Campos established HM Holdings for the Marcoses.
Cojuangco denied that he acted on behalf of the Marcoses. He said the 46,626 Bulletin shares were delivered to him upon the request and as a nominee of Menzi.
He said that since his shares in Bulletin are owned by Menzi, "it does not constitute ill-gotten wealth."
The PCGG filed the complaint against Cojuangco, Yap, Montecillo, Zalamea and the Marcos couple on July 29, 1987 but the original complaint was amended twice.
Zalamea was dropped as defendant in the amended complaint filed on Oct. 17, 1990 by the PCGG while Menzi’s estate was included as a defendant.
In the amended complaint, the PCGG claimed that Yap — serving as dummy, nominee or agent of the Marcos couple — connived with Montecillo and unlawfully appropriated the US Automotive Co., Inc.
The Sandiganbayan subsequently declared that the sale of 154,472
Bulletin shares by Menzi to US Automotive is valid and legal, that Yap actually owns the 2,617 Bulletin shares registered in his name, and that the single share in Bulletin registered under Menzi’s name is not part of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth.
The PCGG also alleged that Yap, acting on behalf of the Marcos couple, also appropriated shares from several corporations, which include the Manila International Port Terminal, Inc. and the Bataan Shipyard Engineering Company.
The PCGG charged that Cojuangco and Zalamea conspired with each other and willfully collaborated with the Marcos couple to "prevent disclosure and recovery of assets illegally obtained and allowed
themselves to be registered as stockholders of the shares in Bulletin... controlled by the Marcos couple and endorsed all
dividend checks for deposits to the accounts of the Marcos couple in the Security Bank and Trust Co."