MANILA, Philippines - Beleaguered Legacy Group owner Celso de los Angeles belied allegations of his former executives that he gifted Securities and Exchange Commissioner Jesus Martinez with a house and lot in Parañaque.
De los Angeles said he bought the property for P5 million for his son, who then sold it to the son of Martinez.
Caroline Hinola, former chief operating officer of Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc., told the Senate committee on trade and commerce that the company paid for the property as bribe for the SEC official.
De los Angeles said there could be a paper trail for the transaction, including documents from the Register of Deeds. He added he knew Martinez but they were not close and that he only met him once in his office to pay a courtesy call on the SEC official after the merger of his companies.
“That house, I bought that and not my son. I was supposed to give it to him, that’s why the title was under his name,” he told The STAR. “Eventually he became friends with the spouse of Commissioner Martinez’s child, who bought the house,” he added.
“They changed the story and said it was Martinez who bought the house and gave it to his son. I pity Commissioner Martinez,” De los Angeles said.
De los Angeles said Hinola and Namnama Pasetes-Santos, former chief finance officer of LCPI, were now trying to extricate themselves from culpability by claiming they were mere employees following every order of his.
“They are most responsible and now they want to get out of it. These top officials of Legacy, masquerading as simple employees, are anything but simple employees,” he said.
“They ride in the latest BMW, Expedition, Pajero, CRV and other luxury cars. They use branded LV (Louis Vuitton) bags, enormous diamond rings and other jewelries (sic),” he said.
“The (Senate trade and commerce) committee under Senator (Manuel) Roxas II must also conduct lifestyle check on these officers and if warranted, freeze their assets and accounts with the same zeal and drive in asking for the freezing of my assets and accounts,” De los Angeles said.
Pasetes-Santos said De los Angeles used the companies’ funds for his personal expenses and campaign when he ran for mayor of Sto. Domingo, Albay in 2007.
But De los Angeles said the two former executives benefited greatly from him, with Pasetes-Santos receiving P250,000 salary per month and Hinola, P200,000 until Feb. 15 this year.
“That’s why I was surprised as everyone else when they appeared in a press conference (and announced they would testify against him),” he said.
De los Angeles said Roxas was politicking and using the issue to gain media mileage. “I ask for fairness and equal application of the law.”
He said Roxas was not giving him the opportunity to reply to the allegations made against him.
He also denied allegations that they were paying off their influential and rich clients first, like House Speaker Prospero Nograles who invested in his scheme offering to double one’s investment after buying back a policy.
“I still owe him P18 million. But he has not been talking to me. Maybe he is afraid to get linked with me,” De los Angeles said.
De los Angeles said he was willing to open his bank accounts and waive his rights to privacy to prove that he did not siphon off funds from his companies to the detriment of plan holders and investors.
“I am not escaping. I will just fight. I cannot do anything else, right? I have to face my accusers, dasal lang ako ng dasal (I just pray and pray),” De los Angeles said.
De los Angeles admitted having connections with other politicians, including Vice President Noli de Castro, but most of them have distanced themselves from him.
He said he would still run for a position in the coming elections because “if you quit, you lose.”
Asked if he would support any presidential candidate, De los Angeles said it was difficult to give an answer but he would vote for “anybody except – you just fill in the blanks,” apparently alluding to Roxas.