Ongpin asks Sandiganbayan to hold his arrest

Businessma Roberto Ongpin and his two coaccused in a graft complaint have asked the Sandiganbayan to delay their arrest in the case involving P660 million in alleged behest loans granted to Ongpin by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Through their counsel Alex Poblador, Ongpin,  Josephine Manalo and Maria Lourdes Torres also sought a judicial determination of probable cause for the issuance of arrest warrants against them.

Based on the complaint of incumbent DBP officials, the three as well as several former DBP officials were charged on Aug. 5, 2011, by the Ombudsman in connection with two loans amounting to P660 million that were made to Deltaventures Resources Inc. (DVRI), a company owned by Ongpin.

The complainants described the loans as “behest,” alleging that they were granted with extraordinary speed, were undercollateralized and the borrower, DVRI, was undercapitalized.  The borrower, they added, was also an administration crony during the Arroyo presidency.

But Ongpin said there was “no basis in any way, shape or form to conclude that there was insider trading in these transactions.” He said “insider trading is when a buyer or seller uses information relating to its corporate business, not available to everyone else, to engage in transactions (for) their own benefit.” Cynthia D. Balana