Jinggoy eyes Ligot plunder rap for homes, bank deposits

Sen. Jose “Jinggoy" Ejercito Estrada on Friday said Jacinto Ligot, who was Carlos Garcia’s predecessor as military comptroller, could also face plunder charges in connection with his wife's unexplained acquisition of homes in the United States, as well as multi-million peso bank transactions in his name. During Friday's Senate continuing inquiry on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) fund mess, Estrada said he has obtained documents showing that Ligot's wife, Erlinda Yambao Ligot, has at least 10 houses in the United States under her name. "Of course, we can file plunder charges against him... because of the advent of these new testimonies and pieces of evidence against General Ligot," Estrada told reporters at the Senate. Confronted with the information during the hearing, Ligot claimed he was unaware that his wife owned such a number of properties abroad, although he admitted that he knew of other properties that his wife bought with the help of her "friends." Ligot earlier invited his wife to attend Friday's Senate inquiry but she did not show up. On Friday, Estrada reiterated the invitation, and warned that the lawmakers may have to issue a subpoena to oblige her to appear.
P740 million in bank transactions During the hearing, Sen. Franklin Drilon also cited records from the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 61 showing that at least P740 million in bank transactions were recorded in Ligot’s bank account over the span of four years from 2001 to 2005. Drilon said from 2001 to 2005, a number of deposits were placed into the account, including the amounts $8,740,742.43 and $171,258,296. Meanwhile, there were withdrawals, including the amounts $8,744,901.67 and $185,665,239.67. Drilon said the deposits and withdrawals were made even before the Anti-Money Laundering Act Council (AMLAC) could freeze $1.3 million and P2.1 million from Ligot's account. "Naunahan mo ang AMLAC, na-withdraw mo kaagad [You beat AMLAC to it by quickly withdrawing the money]," Estrada said. Asked to explain how he amassed such huge amount, Ligot invoked his right against self-incrimination since there was a pending forfeiture cases against him before the Sandiganbayan. However, Special Prosecutor Wendell Sulit later clarified that the bank assets mentioned by Drilon were actually not included in the Ombudsman's petition for forfeiture against Ligot. She said only the former AFP comptroller's real estate assets in the Philippines were the subject of the forfeiture case. Sulit ‘not aware’ of Ligot transactions When Drilon asked why the Ombudsman has filed only a forfeiture case against Ligot and not a plunder case, Sulit explained that she was never aware of the bank transactions Ligot made from 2001 to 2005. But Vicente Aquino, AMLAC executive director, insisted that his office submitted documents about the Ligot bank transactions to the Office of the Ombudsman in 2008. Sulit replied that if ever such documents reached the Ombudsman, she was not aware of it. "I was not yet the special prosecutor at that time," she said, having assumed the post only in March 2010. Drilon also revealed at the hearing that Ligot deposited a total of $81,841.60 in a CitiBank account from November 25 to December 14, 2001, while Commission on Appointments records showed that Ligot did not declare the said amount as part of his assets. Disappointed with Ombudsman’s ‘inaction’ Interviewed after the Senate hearing, Drilon said he was disappointed with the Ombudsman's alleged "inaction" over Ligot's unexplained wealth. "The Ombudsman was informed of this three years ago, [yet] no action was taken. It's hard to believe that they simply forgot about this, such huge amounts," Drilon said. Estrada said the plunder case against Ligot should be pursued by the government because the money involved could be bigger than that involved in Garcia's P300-million plunder case. "If we include the properties abroad, I think it's bigger. Iyong 300 million na in-amass ni Gen. Garcia, I think mas malaki pa ito [Compared with the P300 million amassed by Gen. Garcia, I think this is even bigger]," the lawmaker said.—JV, GMA News