Firm owned by Pecabar lawyers partner of Ceza

By: Gil C. Cabacungan - 11 years ago

Imported used vehicles are displayed at the vehicle yard of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport in Santa Ana, Cagayan, in this Feb. 19, 2013, file photo. An obscure company, whose ownership is cloaked in secrecy by a layer of corporations and a battery of lawyers belonging to the Pecabar law firm founded by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, is the private partner of the Cagayan Export Zone Authority in developing Port Irene in which the government has poured more than P5 billion over the last five years. PHOTO BY RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

An obscure company, whose ownership is cloaked in secrecy by a layer of corporations and a battery of lawyers belonging to the Pecabar law firm founded by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, is the private partner of the Cagayan Export Zone Authority (Ceza) in developing Port Irene in which the government has poured more than P5 billion over the last five years.

According to records culled by the Inquirer Research team, Enrile’s law partners—Eleazar Reyes and Jesus Manalastas—are chair/president and treasurer, respectively, of Asia Pacific International Terminals Inc. (Apit), which Ceza picked as its partner and gave it a 25-year build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) contract for the rehabilitation and development of Port Irene.

An associate at Pecabar (Ponce Enrile Reyes and Manalastas Law Offices), Kay Angela Peñaflorida, is Apit’s corporate secretary.

The three Pecabar lawyers form half of Apit’s six-member board, which includes former Pecabar lawyers Rainier L. Madrid and Loreto C. Ata and Pablo A. de Borja.

A high-level government lawyer, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject, said Pecabar was formed in 1983 by Enrile and the late Sen. Rene Cayetano after a falling out with their partners at Accra (Angara Cruz Concepcion Regala and Abello), the country’s most powerful law firm during the martial law years, specializing in weaving corporate veils to conceal the real owners of companies, such as the businesses established with financing from the coconut levy.

Marcos-era legal tactics

The same government lawyer said Apit’s corporate structure was patterned after Marcos-era legal tactics to hide a company’s true ownership.

Enrile, through a spokesperson, said Wednesday he had nothing to do with Apit and Ceza and told the Inquirer to call Pecabar.

Reyes and Manalastas, however, did not return the Inquirer’s calls.

Apit’s top stockholder, August Star Holdings Corp., which pumped P162.5 million into Apit for an 81.25-percent ownership, is similarly veiled.

Pecabar lawyers Reyes, Manalastas, Madrid, Ata and De Borja are also the incorporators of August Star Holdings, a financial holdings company formed in August 2012, with each chipping in P12.5 million, or a total of P62.5 million, in initial capital, according to the company’s articles of incorporation.

Common shareholder

Apit also shares a common shareholder (Victor Vladimir Q. Padilla) with its second-biggest stockholder, Blue Pearl Mgt. and Devt. Corp., which poured in P29.999 million representing a 15-percent stake in the company.

Blue Pearl, supposedly a real estate firm formed in 1988, has six directors—Ma. Victoria P. Awid (president), Victor Luis Q. Padilla, Ma. Corina P. Bunag, Ma. Irene P. Sudiacal, Victor Q. Padilla Jr. (corporate secretary) and Padilla—who use the same office and home address as the company: 36-A Embassy Terraces, Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

Apit’s third-biggest stockholder is Lionrock Resources Inc., which invested P7.499 million for a 3.75-percent stake in the company. Its ownership is similarly clouded in mystery, as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records showed the last time it registered was 10 years ago with no other available records on the agency’s database.

SEC records showed that Apit has 10 individual stockholders with token shares—Reyes, Manalastas, Madrid, Ata, De Borja, Padilla, Roy D. Ibay, Ramon S. Macalinao, Reynaldo A. Ruiz and Butch Eulalio Pobre.

Before the Pecabar group took over Apit, SEC records showed, the company’s board was composed of Guillermo Facundo (chair and president), Wilfredo Serafica, Arturo Bautista, Gregg Gregoria and Cecilia Kong.

Ceza has already pumped P5.101 billion in taxpayers’ money into a 1,000-meter breakwater in Port Irene, allegedly Ceza’s counterpart share in the BOT deal, according to Ceza senior deputy administrator Nilo Aldeguer.

The breakwater was built primarily by Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp. of businesswoman Alice Eduardo.

Apit, for its part, has yet to announce how much it will invest in Port Irene.

Interlocking interests

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into Eduardo’s personal and business ties to Enrile’s former chief of staff, lawyer Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, after the Inquirer broke the story on Eduardo’s interlocking interests with Reyes, her brothers and mother.

According SEC records, Eduardo is president of Sta. Fe Builders Dredging and Equipment Corp. where Reyes’ brother, Neal Jose O. Gonzales, is chair and Reyes’ mother, Gloria O. Cooper, is a director.

Sta. Elena and Sta. Fe share an office at No. 1625 Leon Guinto St., Malate, Manila.

Sta. Fe Builders is also listed as a director of MGNP Inc., a construction and general trading firm formed by Reyes, her brothers Neal and Patrick, and her mother in 2003.

In asking the DOJ to investigate, Santiago suggested that Enrile had a hand in Eduardo’s winning the contract for the P5.101-billion breakwater at Port Irene.

“Enrile was able to insert this humongous amount in the budget for the Cagayan Freeport for the last five years. It appears that Enrile used their names to surreptitiously morph the freeport into the main vehicle for smuggling and other illicit operations,” Santiago said.

“Thus, it appears that Enrile has used the names of his chief of staff and her family to mask his immense personal financial interests, not only in Sta. Fe Builders, but also in Sta. Elena Construction. The latter apparently served as conduit for the P5.101 billion that the government spent for the breakwater of Port Irene, basically Enrile’s brainchild when he served as representative,” she said.

Santiago also accused Eduardo of using her links to Reyes and Enrile to obtain lucrative contracts for Pagcor Entertainment City, North Luzon Expressway, SM projects (including the Mall of Asia), four power plants, traffic interchanges, bridge projects and flood control projects.

DOJ probe

On Wednesday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said a DOJ special task force would investigate Santiago’s allegations against Enrile.

The task force is headed by Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiano.

De Lima said the task force was also investigating allegations raised by Santiago in a privilege speech that Enrile was involved in corruption, smuggling and illegal gambling.—With a report from Christine O. Avendaño