Erap to file libel raps vs Yuchengco

After he was accused of pressuring the Yuchengco family to sell their holdings in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) in 1998, former President Joseph Estrada would lodge a libel complaint against business tycoon Alfonso Yuchengco. On Wednesday, Estrada’s spokesperson Margaux Salcedo said the complaint would be filed by Estrada’s lawyers at 10 a.m. Thursday at the San Juan City Prosecutor’s Office. "President Estrada maintains that the statement of Mister Yuchengco against him, with respect to forcing him (Yuchengco) to sell PLDT shares, is not true. It has caused him (Estrada) public humiliation," Salcedo said. In a privilege speech on Monday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson denied irregularities in the sale. On Tuesday, Yuchengco admitted that Estrada had indeed pressured him to sell PTIC’s stake in PLDT. "These shares were taken from me in 1998 through sheer intimidation and serious threat to my business, myself, and my family," Yuchengco disclosed. Earlier on Wednesday, Estrada's son questioned Yuchengco's motives for his admission. "He (Yuchengco) is doing this because he wants to clear himself of liability in the insurance policy orders which the Yuchengco Group of Companies failed to honor," said San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito in a statement, referring to the collapse of the Yuchengcos' Pacific Plans Inc. Salcedo, however, said the former president does not want to comment on JV Ejercito's accusation against Yuchengco. "We do not wish to speculate on anything," she said. Estrada allegedly raked in about P3-billion in commissions from the deal, as claimed by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Perfecto Yasay. "Information reaching my office as the SEC chair showed that the commission for the deal was P3 billion," Yasay said earlier in the day. Yasay added that he was even suspended after he objected to the alleged anomalous transaction. During Estrada’s impeachment trial in January 2001, Yasay testified on how Estrada sided with Metro Pacific for it to have control over PLDT. He likewise said he had been slapped with two suspension orders when he tried to investigate whether the transaction complied with the Securities Code. - GMANews.TV