Gov’t lawyers ask Sandigan to seize Jinggoy’s P183-M alleged ‘pork’ loot

Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada. FILE photoMANILA, Philippines—State prosecutors on Thursday filed a motion for the Sandiganbayan to seize detained Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada’s assets worth P183.793 million believed to be part of his loot from the pork barrel scam.

The prosecuting panel filed an ex parte motion for issuance of writ of preliminary attachment or garnishment before the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division on Thursday.

The garnished properties could be in the form of cash, real properties, shares of stocks, and other financial instruments, the motion said.

In the motion, prosecutors said there was a need to preserve Estrada’s alleged kickbacks in the course of the court hearings to protect the interests of the state in forfeiture cases and to prevent the concealment of ill-gotten wealth.

“Given the very high likelihood that Estrada indeed had a hand in the plunder of millions of pesos in public funds , there is an imperative need to secure as much of his property as possible in order to cover his liability for his alleged loot,” the motion read.

The prosecutors said securing Estrada’s alleged loot is all the more necessary because the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in a report found out that the senator closed down four of his bank accounts containing P76.4 million at the time the PDAF scam erupted in the media.

“Estrada demonstrated proclivity to hide his financial dealings from scrutiny in order to, presumably, forestall the discovery of his illicit activities … When Estrada closed his accounts as described he was clearly trying to conceal and protect his monies that he accumulated from his plunderous activities,” the motion said.

The prosecutors noted that Estrada came from a prominent political family and thus had the clout to hide his alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“The state must be allowed a reasonable remedy to prevent Estrada from further concealing, disposing and dissipating his assets and funds to evade any future judgment of conviction and forfeiture,” it added.

The team said it wanted to secure Estrada’s alleged commissions with the help of the Sandiganbayan Sheriff and Security Services, the sheriffs of Metro Manila and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

A notice of garnishment is a legal notification served on a third party to hold, subject to a court’s direction, money or property belonging to a person or persons that are subject to litigation. This means that if the court issues the notice, it deems that Estrada may owe the garnished assets to the government, which maintains that these assets were unlawfully acquired and therefore belong to the public coffers.

The motion said Estrada was likely guilty for plunder, especially after the AMLC in its bank inquiry report bared various bank transactions of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and her foundations with Senator Estrada’s alleged conduits.

Senators Estrada, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile as well as their aides and alleged mastermind Napoles are detained to stand trial on plunder charges arising from the pork barrel scam.

Revilla and Estrada are locked up at the PNP Custodial Center while Enrile is in hospital detention.

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