Senate panel submits to DOJ documents on Legacy fiasco

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate panel investigating the bankrupt Legacy Group has submitted affidavits as well as copies of the transcript of its March 9 public hearing to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Sen. Manuel Roxas II said the affidavits submitted to the DOJ, through the National Bureau of Investigation, included those of former Legacy chief executive officer Carolina Hiñola and former chief finance officer Namnama Pacetes-Santos.

The two had detailed how corporate funds were manipulated for the personal use of Legacy owner Celso de los Angeles.

According to Roxas, the documents were received by NBI Special Investigator III Laureano Tugas II.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring has formed a special unit to investigate the Legacy mess upon instructions of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.

Roxas also hit Gonzalez for blaming the Senate for “delays” in the DOJ probe on the issue.

“Is he crazy? The documents have been submitted to his office as early as last month. Has he not seen them on his desk?” Roxas said.

“Gonzalez should coordinate with his officers. This is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Or maybe, the department has not done anything,” he said.

“I cannot understand why instead of doing his work, Gonzalez is making all this noise and blaming his office’s incompetence on others. It is good the Senate is investigating this because if not, Raul Gonzalez would not even spend a minute to look into it,” he said.

“I repeat. The Senate is willing to cooperate with any government agency investigating the Legacy fund mess. It is important that we bring justice to the victims who lost their hard-earned savings due to Legacy’s illegal schemes,” he added.