Leave “Jose Velarde” out of it. The cousin of President Aquino and a Cabinet Secretary of ousted President Joseph Estrada are the ones wooing residents of Corinthian Gardens Homeowners Inc. (CGHI) for a “partnership” to build the Memory Museum complex at the corner of White Plains Avenue and Edsa in Quezon City.
“Jose Velarde,” not the one who was ousted in Edsa II, is back, making backroom deals with Malacañang executives who are pushing for the construction of a memory museum for Edsa I, or the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.
Businessman Jaime Dichaves has contested the Ombudsman’s affirmation of his plunder case for allegedly conniving with deposed President Joseph Estrada to amass illegal wealth, and said that the evidence presented at the latter’s trial could not be used against him.
One of the significant issues that cropped up in the national scene but did not take the limelight from the ongoing impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona is the conclusion of the preliminary investigation conducted by the Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on the plunder case involving businessman Jaime Dichaves.
The Sandiganbayan Special Division has denied the plea of businessman Jaime Dichaves to be allowed to travel to China and Bangkok on business after the Office of the Ombudsman found him liable for plunder.
After completing their preliminary investigation , prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman have found businessman Jaime Dichaves liable in a plunder case and have asked the Sandiganbayan Special Division to order his arrest.
The Sandiganbayan Special Division has denied the motion of businessman Jaime Dichaves to lift his hold departure order as well as the attachment order on his house in connection with a plunder case filed against him.
The Sandiganbayan Special Division has allowed businessman Jaime Dichaves to travel to Hong Kong and China next week to look for raw materials for his business, despite prosecutors’ objections on the ground that he is a flight risk.
Businessman Jaime Dichaves was arraigned on Friday but pleaded not guilty to plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan during a hearing on his motion to travel to Hong Kong and China later this month.
Businessman Jaime Dichaves insisted before the Sandiganbayan that he must be allowed to travel in and out of the country freely, saying he needs this to revive his export business so that he could provide for his family and fight his legal battles.
Government prosecutors have opposed businessman Jaime Dichaves’ motion to lift the hold departure order against him, as well as the attachment order on his properties, saying he may just use it to frustrate the ends of justice.
Now that he’s free from arrest, businessman Jaime Dichaves wants the Sandiganbayan to remove restrictions on his travel and the court’s hold on his properties, including his Quezon City home.
Businessman Jaime Dichaves is now back in the country after the Sandiganbayan recalled his arrest warrant, according to his lawyer Pacifico Agabin.
