Spilling the beans

"We now have the goods on Rosario Baladjay."

This was the assessment made by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after 28 trusted personnel of Baladjay trooped to the bureau’s main office in Manila and vowed to help in the investigation, prosecution and conviction of the alleged queen of the pyramid scam.

The 28 Multitel "counselors" met with NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco at the bureau’s headquarters on Taft Avenue yesterday afternoon and gave their assurance of cooperation on the probe against Baladjay.

"This is a major breakthrough in the investigation. These counselors can provide us with vital information in our quest for justice," Wycoco told reporters shortly after his meeting with the Multitel officers.

Wycoco said the counselors, who had been with Baladjay even when she was still with Eastern Telecoms, personally remitted money to Baladjay during the heyday of Multitel’s operations.

During yesterday’s meeting, the counselors turned over their sworn statements, revealing that they themselves had investments amounting to more than P313 million as well as investments of over $1.2 million from five other persons.

Ricardo Diaz, chief of the NBI-International Police (Interpol) Division, one of the units handling pyramid scam investigation, also attended the meeting held at the conference room.

The counselors said they now fear for their lives, pointing out that some of them have noticed unidentified persons roaming near their homes since the alleged pyramid scam was exposed.

Wycoco vowed to coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) to help ensure the safety of the counselors and their families.

The NBI chief also indicated the bureau’s plans to ask the Department of Justice (DOJ) to place the counselors under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) pending the resolution of the case.

"If you are one of the least guilty, then you can qualify," he told them.

The counselors also apologized to Wycoco and Diaz for initially believing Baladjay’s claims that she had paid off officials of the NBI, DOJ and Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent her arrest.

"We are sorry... She gave us the impression that you were on the take," the councilors said through lawyer Jaime Soriano, their legal counsel.

Soriano said they are thankful to Wycoco’s younger brother Wilfredo "Willie" Wycoco for turning over to the NBI the passports and other documents of Baladjay and her family, which prevented them from leaving the country and evading prosecution.

Statements coming from the investors and counselors contradict Baladjay’s claims during a Senate hearing that the younger Wycoco tried to facilitate her escape to China.

In the early phase of the probe, it was reported that Multitel was not a registered issuer of securities, but the firm was still able to issue them to 49 clients, including amounts totaling P10,266,470 and $50,500.

With a number of case filed in various courts, the NBI has requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) to freeze the accounts of the Baladjays.