The lawyers of Roberto Ongpin on Friday objected to the request of the Office of the Ombudsman to have two Sandiganbayan judges inhibit themselves from hearing the graft case against the businessman, saying prosecutors only made the accusation of bias against the judges after the government suffered a legal setback.
There seems to be little rest for Philam Life president and CEO Rex Mendoza, who is in the middle of efforts to revitalize what was once the country’s biggest insurance firm.
Businessman Roberto Ongpin has asked the courts to dismiss the graft charges against him and 24 current and former officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), reiterating that the loans he obtained from the state-owned bank had been fully paid and, as such, could not be considered behest.
The Sandiganbayan has allowed businessman Roberto Ongpin to travel abroad for one month to attend business meetings.
Businessman Roberto Ongpin pleaded not guilty at his conditional arraignment at the Sandiganbayan on Wednesday to graft charges in connection with P660 million in alleged behest loans that his Deltaventures Resources Inc. (DVRI) obtained from the Development Bank of the Philipines (DBP) in 2009.
The government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects may be slow to get out of the starting blocks, but one certainly cannot accuse officials of the PPP Center of sleeping on the job.
Businessman Roberto Ongpin has petitioned the Sandiganbayan to recall the hold-departure order it issued against him and allow him to travel abroad to attend business meetings and conduct negotiations.
The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling issued by the Sandiganbayan in 2004 declaring that 7.2 percent in shares of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) transferred to businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. were owned by the government.
A former chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines was acquitted of graft for giving a P188 million loan guarantee to the Sta. Ines Mining and Steel Corp., which was allegedly not backed by sufficient collateral.
Claiming that state prosecutors have failed to prove that his assets are ill-gotten after more than two decades of trying, ethnic Chinese businessman Lucio Tan has filed a P300 million counter-claim for damages from government.
Businessman Jaime Dichaves may have to be conditionally arraigned in his plunder case if he wants to leave the country, according to a Sandiganbayan official.
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Sandiganbayan in 2004 that awarded the 24 percent block or 753,848,312 shares in San Miguel Corporation (SMC) registered in the name of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) to the government.
