Antonio Tiu. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines―An emotional Antonio Tiu held a press conference on Wednesday, lambasting the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee for allegedly subjecting him to “ridicule” and “insults” when he appeared twice in its hearings.
“Inuulit ko po (I repeat), I’m not a dummy. I’m not a money launderer. I’m not guilty of any crime,” Tiu said when he started his press conference in Quezon City, reading from his prepared statement in his laptop.
The businessman has been tagged as the alleged dummy of Vice President Jejomar Binay for the controversial property in Rosario town, Batangas province. Both denied the allegation.
Tiu said he was abroad when his name was dragged into the controversy.
“While abroad, I received several text messages warning me to cooperate if I wanted a free pass. Otherwise, various government agencies will start to run after me. To my mind, these text messages constitute real threats and blackmails,” Tiu said.
“I went to Senate inquiry as a resource person. But to my total dismay, I was accused of being a dummy, a money launderer, a tax evader and a dishonest businessman.”
Tiu’s voice started to crack when he made the following statements: “My patient explanation of my business practices was ridiculed , constantly interrupted and branded as lies. Instead of focusing on the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building, I found myself being grilled by the senators on the issues that have nothing to do on the supposed subject matter,” Tiu said.
Then addressing the senators, the businessman asked how he and his Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park had been dragged into the subcommittee’s investigation on the allegedly overpriced parking building in Makati City.
“Because they can’t find any evidence against me, the senators have unleashed against my companies the full arsenal of the government ― BIR, AMLC, DENR, DAR, NBI and SEC,” he said.
BIR is Bureau of Internal Revenue, AMLC is Anti-Money Laundering Council, DENR is Department of Environment and Natural Resources DAR is Department of Agrarian Reform, NBI is National Bureau of Investigation while SEC is Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee of the three is complainant, prosecutor and judge,” said the businessman, apparently referring to Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Alan Cayetano, who were actively attending the hearings.
“I’m standing by the truth that I’m a buyer of the Rosario property in good faith,” Tiu said.
While he “quietly suffered the insults thrown at me by the honorable senators,” Tiu said he accepted them all but not when Cayetano forced him to disclose his bank accounts, which he said had put him and his family in danger.
“Ang sabi niya, hindi naman daw mapanganib ang gagawin kong ito dahil pwede naman daw akong makipagtawaran sa mga kidnappers kung sakaling kidnappin ako o sino mang miyrmebro ng aking pamilya. Senator Cayetano, tama po ba at makatao na gawin niyong biro ang kidnapping? Tama po ba na sa kagustuhang ipahiya ako ginawa ninyong katatawanan ang isyu ng kidnapping lalo na sa aming miyembro ng Filipino-Chinese community na araw-araw humaharap sa panganib na ito?” Tiu asked.
“Sen. Cayetano ano ang mararamdaman ninyo kung ginawa kong biro ang kidnapping at ang pamilya ninyo ang pinagtungkulan ko? Di ka ba masayang pinagbintangan mo ako ng walang basehan? Pinahiya mo ako ng paulit-ulit sa harapan ng taumbayan at ngayon gusto mo namang ipain ang buhay ko pati pamilya ko sa mga kidnappers?” he said.
Tiu pointed out that kidnapping is a serious and real threat for Chinese-Filipino businessmen like him.