Gonzalez to file plunder rap vs Estrada

Former Tourism Secretary Jose Antonio Gonzalez said yesterday that he would file a case of plunder before the Ombudsman against President Estrada for the controversial rehabilitation of the Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark, formerly operated by Gonzalez’s Mondragon Leisure and Resorts Corp. (MLRC).

In a press conference at the Mondragon House, Gonzalez, through his lawyer Ernesto Francisco, claimed that the government lost about P68 billion in rentals when the government, Clark Development Corp. and Penta Capital entered into an agreement last Sept. 25 for the rehabilitation of Mimosa.

Francisco explained that under the original agreement approved by the Supreme Court, Mondragon was supposed to pay a total of P72 million in rentals for 44 years to the government.

"However, in the amended deal signed by the President last Sept. 25, the amount was reduced to P4.3 million," Francisco said.

He revealed that the reduction was made to favor a mystery investor who brokered the deal to privatize Mimosa.

Francisco said the plunder charge against the President would be filed next week before the Ombudsman even if the House prosecution panel includes Gonzalez’s exposé on Mimosa in the impeachment case against the President.

The state-owned CDC scrapped in December 1998 its lease contract with MLRC, which developed and operated the 215-hectare Mimosa estate, after the latter failed to pay its land rental. The Supreme Court brokered in January last year a compromise agreement between the MLRC and CDC where CDC would settle its arrears worth P325 million and remit P1.7 billion worth of revenues over a 10-year period.

However, MLRC failed to secure letters of credit to comply with the new agreement after Alice Reyes, chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corps. stated that she would not allow the reopening of the Mimosa Regency Casino.

When MLRC failed to pay the first tranche of the P325-million rental arrears, CDC, backed by the police took full control of Mimosa last December.

Francisco said that last April, a certain Venicio Ramos approached Mondragon offering a solution to Mondragon’s problems through presidential adviser Roberto Aventajado.

The meeting of Ramos, Gonzalez and Aventajado came up with the entry of Penta Capital as the outside investor that would infuse fresh capital into Mimosa.

Francisco claimed that the deal with Penta was negotiated by the New Millennium Investments Corp. where Aventajado’s son Marco had a high-ranking position.

"They took over Mimosa because a crony wanted to take over Mimosa," Francisco said.

Gonzalez said he is willing to testify before the impeachment trial of the President if it is necessary to prove the latter’s guilt.

Aventajado said the other day that he would file a case against Gonzalez for damages to clear his name as he flatly denied that he had asked for a 20 percent share in the Mimosa Leisure Estate.

"It is an outright lie, and he well knows this but insists on propagating it to fit the agenda of Estrada bashers," he said.

Antonio Bautista, Aventajado’s counsel, said a case of libel would be filed against Gonzalez sometime next week, along with other criminal charges.

Aventajado said he had no dealings with Gonzalez, and that he did not own or have any interest in the New Millennium Corp. or the Penta Investment Corp.

"I was trying to help him (Gonzalez) in exchange for nothing," he said. — Marvin Sy, Ding Cervantes