Trillanes reveals Binay’s ‘pattern of corruption’

SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV disclosed on Monday what he described as “pattern of corruption” allegedly being perpetrated by Vice President Jejomar Binay.

At the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing on corruption allegations against Binay and his family, Trillanes linked the Vice President to an insurance brokerage, which he said has “monopoly” over the insurance business of Pag-IBIG Funds, and to a law firm that allegedly helped stop the suspension of Binay’s son and incumbent Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay.

Trillanes said Raoul Angangco, president of Lockton Philippines Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., which handles the insurance business of Pag-Ibig Funds, and lawyer Arthur Villaraza are partners in the Villaraza and Angangco law office.

In a resolution last month,   the senator accused Villaraza of allegedly facilitating the payments to two   Court of Appeals (CA) justices, whom he said had allegedly received P25 million each to stop the suspension of Mayor Binay.

The mayor was preventively suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall 2 parking building but the CA issued a temporary restraining order on his suspension.

“A few weeks back, I stumbled upon information regarding the alleged bribery of CA (Court of Appeals) justices facilitated by Atty. Pancho Villaraza na partner ni Raoul Angangco. So dito malinawag na ang Villaraza and Angangco law office is with the Binay camp,” Trillanes said.

Aside from Angangco,  the senator said two directors of  the insurance  brokerage —  Maria  Conception  Simundac and   Leo Bernard   Samaco —   are also  partners in the law firm.

“I wish this is just a coincidence but again, citing yung mga pattern of corruption or template of corruption ni Vice President Binay, I  sincerely doubt that,” said the senator.

“Wala ng benefit of the doubt. I really wish we could give the Vice President that pero naka-20 hearings na po tayo hindi ko na po ibibigay yan, pag may nakita akong link, ilalabas ko yan dahil I’m almost sure it’s just a matter of time ’pag lumabas ang mga ebidensyang yan mahuhuli at mahuhuli yan,” he pointed out.

Before this, Trillanes questioned the composition of the insurance brokerage of Pag-Ibig  Funds, saying  many of its officials  were  identified with the  Vice President.

But Pag-Ibig Funds president and chief executive officer Darlene Berberabe  defended  the insurance brokerage, saying that premium payments of Pag-Ibig members went down compared  with  the rates of its old insurance  brokerage,  YRT (Yearly Renewable Term) Insurance Pool.

For the past 20 years, she said, insurance business of Pag-Ibig Funds worth P1.3 billion, was being handled by YRT, which she said was unincorporated.

“We reviewed the contract, the contract was a perpetual contract. It did not have time period; it was never reviewed for its term and conditions…”  Berberabe said of YRT.

Upon recommendations by appropriate agencies of government,  she said  Pag-Ibig Funds  bid out its insurance business.

She said Lockton  accredits the  insurance  firms  but  the  agency’s  board of trustees  still has a say in the list of companies that the brokerage is going to accredit.

“That’s even worse Atty. Berberabe,”  Trillanes said.

“Sa dami ho ng aking magandang  sinabi e talagang worse  pa rin,” said  the Pag-Ibig head.

“Mahirap ho talagang magtahi ng  storya,”   said the senator.