Legacy's De los Angeles has cancer - hospital exec

MANILA, Philippines – Celso de los Angeles Jr., the embattled owner of the collapsed Legacy Group of Companies, is suffering from cancer, an official from the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) said Thursday. SLMC corporate communications office head Marilen Lagniton said De los Angeles is presently confined at the hospital after undergoing surgery on his throat "on Tuesday or on Wednesday." Lagniton, however, said that it was not clear whether the throat surgery was part of the treatment for his cancer or whether his ailment was discovered after the surgery. "His (De los Angeles’) representative will provide the details later today after his family gets the official medical information from his doctors," Lagniton said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. De los Angeles is facing a wave of charges, including syndicated estafa, for allegedly siphoning off millions of pesos from plan holders and depositors of Legacy’s collapsed pre-need firms and rural banks, respectively. The Legacy Group’s shuttered pre-need firms have P1.1 billion worth of unpaid obligations to about 50,000 plan holders. Last year, 13 of Legacy Group’s rural banks were closed and were placed under receivership or liquidation. The Bangko Sentral said these banks have “insufficient assets to cover their liabilities, suffer from severe liquidity problems, and perform unsafe and unsound banking practices." De los Angeles, who is also mayor of Sto. Domingo town in Albay province, had repeatedly denied orchestrating fraudulent schemes that allegedly led to Legacy’s collapse. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV