Supreme Court rules vs ‘RJ’ in dispute with PNB

Philippine National Bank (PNB) may take over Makati and Tagaytay properties owned by a company led by businessman and musician Ramon P. Jacinto in a dispute over soured loans, the Supreme Court has ruled. Upholding a decision by the appeals court, the high tribunal said PNB has a claim over the Makati and Tagaytay properties of RJ Ventures Realty and Development Corp. In a phone interview, Jacinto said he had yet to receive a copy of the court resolution but “will raise the case to the high court en banc." Last August, the Court of Appeals nullified an execution order issued by a Makati trial court that retained the two properties in the Jacinto firm’s possession — an 8,000-square meter property in at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue in Makati, and a property in Barrio Maharlika, Tagaytay. First Women’s Credit Corp. (FWCC), where Jacinto was a shareholder, first bought the Buendia property for P3.68 billion on July 17, 1996. Financing came from PNB. Before it could end the transaction, FWCC assigned all its rights, claims and interests over the property to RJ Ventures. To pay for the balance of the purchase price, RJ Ventures obtained a loan from PNB worth P2.944 billion. The Lucio Tan-led bank required a 10-percent downpayment or P368 million. To pay for this, affiliate Rajah Broadcasting Network, Inc. borrowed P350 million from PNB. Used as security were a 70 percent stake in Rajah Broadcasting and Jacinto’s 40-percent stake in FWCC. Meanwhile, Rajah obtained another loan worth P100 million to cover interest payments. This was secured by a chattel mortgage over broadcast equipment and the Tagaytay lot. Loans of RJ Ventures and Rajah Broadcasting reached P5.405 billion and P841 million, respectively. When these went sour, the bank started foreclosure proceedings for both the Buendia and Tagaytay properties some time in 1999. RJ Ventures sought an injunction from the the Makati court, but this was denied. PNB thus began the foreclosure of the assets, including the broadcast equipment pledged by Rajah Broadcasting. RJ Ventures, claiming it was yet to be determined whether it was really in default, tried to save the broadcast equipment and other collateral by going anew to the trial court. The issue reached the Supreme Court, which issued a status quo order in favor of RJ Ventures. RJ Ventures then moved for the issuance of a writ of execution with the Makati court, asking that the properties be returned to it, including the Buendia and Tagaytay properties. But the trial court, headed by Judge Joselito Villarosa, denied the motion, saying that the Buendia and Tagaytay lots were not covered by the main case involving the supposed loan defaults. RJ Ventures thereafter moved for a consolidation of all cases involving the broadcast equipment and the real estate properties before another branch of the Makati court. The petition for execution was granted, forcing PNB to raise the issue to the appellate court. In siding with the appeals court’s decision last year, the high court said: “Branch 132 had no jurisdiction to issue a writ of execution under the terms it granted; its order effectively varied the tenor of the decision sought to be executed." RJ Ventures claims PNB had turned its back on a pledge to restructure the loans, and that this had something to do with Jacinto’s “persecution" during the Estrada administration. Jacinto, in the interview, said the high court still has to tackle the merits of the case. He said “the [Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption] will ask the Supreme Court to give due course to its motion to intervene... to investigate the tampering of court records to favor PNB." Jacinto’s lawyers earlier said the appellate court should have been aware that the Villarosa decision was based on tainted records. — Ira P. Pedrasa, BusinessWorld