Ex-DFA chief posts P.24-million bail

MANILA, Philippines — A day after saying he would not post bail until he faces the judge trying the case against him, former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. posted bail yesterday.

Yasay was still at the Manila Doctors Hospital when his lawyer arrived at the Manila regional trial court (RTC) at around 10 a.m. and posted P60,000 bail for each of the four cases against him for a total of P240,000. 

He and five other officials of the defunct Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank were accused of one count of violating Republic Act 8791 or the General Banking Law and RA 7653 or the New Central Bank Act for failing to report to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the approval of a P350-million loan to a real estate company, owned by the bank’s owners, in early 2000.

“After posting bail, I now enjoy the status of a provisional free man. Now the fight for justice and to prove my innocence begins,” Yasay posted on his Facebook account.

Police officers from the Manila Police District (MPD) warrant section, led by Lt. Glen Vallejo, served an arrest warrant on Yasay at his unit at the Milano Residences in Makati City on Thursday.

The warrant was issued by Branch 10 Judge Danilo Leyva.

Vallejo said Yasay, 72, was “very cooperative during the whole process.”

Lawyer Jon Velasquez arrived at the MPD’s warrant section at around 10 a.m. Thursday, carrying the arrest warrant and requested that it be served immediately, according to Vallejo.

Yasay posted on his Facebook account to inform his friends “that I am now being arrested from my house by police officers of Manila,” followed by photos of him posing for a mugshot and the inside of his cell.

Another post came out at around 6:30 p.m. with Yasay expressing his disappointment over the case and telling his friends that he will not post bail until he faces the judge, whom he “will question… (over) this abuse of process and travesty of justice.”

At around 8:45 p.m., Yasay complained of chest pains and nurses found his blood pressure had shot up to 160/100. 

Yasay maintained that he should not have been arrested or charged since the loans were granted from 2003 to 2006, before he joined the bank in 2009 as a board member.

“I was never involved in any operations of Banco Filipino. I had to sit for and on behalf of Banco Filipino as the head of the high-level representative delegation in trying to fashion out a rehabilitation plan that the Supreme Court mandated the Banco Filipino was supposed to do,” Yasay added.

Yasay said that government lawyers should have joined the police in serving him the arrest warrant on Thursday.

Velasquez, who claimed to be “representing BSP,” stood guard… and pushed his weight around to make sure I was imprisoned right away. I found this revolting,” Yasay said.

Yasay said he filed a motion for reconsideration last July 9 to be removed from the case, but the motion remains pending before the Department of Justice.

His wife, Cecile, said her husband will undergo more tests and is likely to be discharged tomorrow or Monday.