Group wants independent check-up on ailing Legacy owner

MANILA, Philippines – An independent doctor should examine embattled Legacy Group owner Celso de los Angeles Jr. to quell doubts on his reported illness, the Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition said Wednesday. The group’s head, Philip Piccio, said that in the past, De los Angeles had feigned illness to supposedly walk away scot-free from the various allegations hurled against him. "Hindi mo naman maitatanggal ‘yan (alinlangan), dati naman gawain niya ‘yan, ‘yong may kwentong ipinalabas na ‘di totoo. Ano naman ang rason para maniwala kami," Piccio said in an interview on GMA’s Unang Hirit. [We can’t help but doubt whether he is really sick. He had lied about his health before. Is there any reason to believe him now?] Piccio said that an independent check-up is necessary because De los Angeles’ doctors had kept the public in the dark regarding the businessman’s condition. "Wala kaming naririnig officially sa kaniyang doctor. Puro litrato lang. Pero kahit kami puwede kaming magpakita ng maysakit na planholders [We have yet to hear an official statement from his doctor. All we get are pictures of him. But anyone can put up pictures of people who are sick]," he said. Piccio said that some doctors who are members of PEP Coalition – composed of failed plan holders of collapsed pre-need firms – have volunteered to conduct a check-up on the businessman. Piccio added that although he sympathizes with the Legacy owner, he believes the plan holders who have been allegedly duped by Legacy’s pre-need firms deserve justice. Stage 4 cancer De los Angeles is currently confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City, where he is receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment for his stage 4 tonsil cancer. Last Monday, operatives from the National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) served an arrest warrant against De los Angeles but CIDG spokesperson Felix Vargas said they allowed De los Angeles to stay at St. Luke's for his 20-day chemotherapy sessions. The arrest warrant stemmed from the order of the Cagayan de Oro Regional Trial Court, which found probable cause to charge De los Angeles and other Legacy officials with three counts of syndicated estafa. Syndicated estafa is a crime committed by a group of five or more people formed with the intention of carrying out a fraudulent act through misappropriation of money. No need for independent check-up But for De los Angeles’ lawyer, an independent check-up would not be necessary because the doctors from the PNP-CIDG had already found his client incapable of testifying at the Cagayan de Oro RTC because of his cancer. "Ang [tumingin] kay Celso ay PNP doctors. When we talk of the PNP, these are government officials. They made a finding na talagang di kayang ilabas ng ospital si Celso de los Angeles," Noel Malaya said in a separate interview on Unang Hirit. [Those who checked my client were PNP doctors. When we talk of the PNP, these are government officials. They found that Celso de los Angeles cannot leave the hospital.] The lawyer likewise rejected the idea of having his client checked by doctors from PEP Coalition, who he branded as "biased." Malaya likewise told PEP that it’s not the duty of De los Angeles’ doctor to disclose the businessman’s condition. "I talked to him [doctor[ yesterday but he said, just leave it to the hospital administration [to talk about the matter]," Malaya said. GMANews.TV tried to contact St. Luke’s corporate communications office head Marilen Lagniton for comment but she was not answering the calls. Wave of charges De los Angeles is facing strings of charges lodged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several private individuals. He allegedly diverted millions of pesos from plan holders and depositors of Legacy’s collapsed pre-need firms and rural banks, to his own pocket. The Legacy group of companies’ 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. - GMANews.TV