Amalilio gets 2 years in Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - Businessman Manuel Amalilio has moved away from the reach of Philippine authorities and the 15,000 Filipinos he allegedly swindled in a massive pyramiding scheme.

Amalilio, who carries the Malaysian name Mohammad Kamal Sa’ad, was sentenced last Monday to two years in prison by the Magistrate’s Court in Kota Kinabalu for possession of a fake passport, Malaysia’s The Star newspaper reported yesterday.

The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it is verifying the report.

Manila says Amalilio is a Filipino who should be brought back to the country to face trial. 

Amalilio pleaded guilty to charges of violation of the Passport Act of 1966, which carries a fine of up to 10,000 Malaysian ringgit, or jail term of up to five years, or both.

He was charged before Magistrate Nuruhuda Mohd Yusof at the Queen Elizabeth hospital where he is being treated for a liver ailment.

Based on court records, he was found to be in possession of a Philippine passport under the name of Manuel Karingal Amalilio last Jan. 25 at the departure hall of Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The newspaper report said a probe showed he had fraudulently obtained the Philippine passport.

Amalilio’s lawyer sought a lighter sentence, saying he was first-time offender who was remorseful for his actions.

Amalilio was set to board a plane to the Philippines with National Bureau of Investigation agents before Malaysian authorities blocked the deportation last Jan. 25.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib later said Malaysia was willing to hand over Amalilio to Philippines authorities.

‘He is a Filipino’

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Amalilio’s Philippine passport and birth certificate were authentic.

“As far as our documents are concerned, he is a Filipino. They were secured from official sources so there’s presumption of validity and genuineness,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview yesterday.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to resume on Feb. 7 the preliminary investigation into more complaints filed against Amalilio and the top Aman executives.

Senior assistant state prosecutor Edna Valenzuela, chair of the special investigating panel, said Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co is expected to attend the hearing as one of the respondents.

Co was tagged by complainants as one of the accomplices in the Aman Ponzi scheme.

“We now have received four complaints against Mayor Co,” Valenzuela said.

De Lima said it would be best not to address issues concerning Amalilio’s Malaysian citizenship.

“We would not want this issue – peripheral or otherwise - to go out of proportion and possibly jeopardize our efforts to bring him back to the country,” she explained.

De Lima said their only objective is “to ensure the return of Mr. Amalilio by whatever means legally possible.”

She refused to comment on the reported conflict among some Malaysian officials due to “principles of comity and reciprocity under international law because the Philippines and Malaysia are friendly nations.”

The conflict was said to have been sparked by Amalilio’s aborted deportation last Jan. 25.

The DOJ chief said the reported ties between Amalilio and the Sabah official have never been an issue in the government’s effort to bring him back to the country.

She was reacting to the reported admission of Musa Aman, the chief minister of Sabah, that Amalilio is his “distant relative.”

Musa is reportedly under fire from Malaysian federal parliament for blocking Amalilio’s repatriation. He denied blocking the deportation. – Reinir Padua