Aquino’s brod-in-law linked to scam

Eldon Cruz, the brother-in-law of former President Benigno Aquino III by sister Ballsy, had endorsed the release of payments for the supposed bogus road right-of-way claims in General Santos City, which amounted to P8.7 billion, a witness on the alleged scam revealed on Monday.

In a press briefing with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Roberto Catapang Jr. claimed he was part of a syndicate that facilitated the documentation and application for compensation of private properties, which were expropriated to give way to state-funded road projects.

Catapang said the properties were covered by spurious land titles and other documents which he and other members of their group had manufactured in connivance with corrupt government employees.

Never met Cruz

He, however, admitted that he never met Cruz nor saw him speak with public officials to help facilitate multimillion-peso transactions in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Budget and Management.

The witness was visibly adamant to identify Cruz as the one who supposedly used his connections in the previous Aquino administration to hasten the release of funds for the alleged fake road right-of-way claims.

Catapang, who has been admitted to the witness protection program of the Department of Justice, took several minutes and looked at Aguirre a few times, apparently to seek guidance, before answering questions from the media.

The justice secretary, who was seated beside him, told the media which questions to ask as he advised the witness to refer to the contents of his sworn affidavit.

When Catapang asked him if he could name Cruz, Aguirre nodded and said: “You have [documents]. Show them your documents. Tell them ‘apparently.’”

“Apparently, they were using his name always, not just a few times. Sorry, Sir. It’s Sir Eldon Cruz,” said Catapang, who looked uncomfortable as he uttered Cruz’s name.

“Actually, this is the talk of the town in the DPWH. The people in central [office] know that. They had been talking about it during the time of President Aquino,” he said.

Supposed signature

Catapang then showed a letter dated Jan. 12, 2011, which Cruz purportedly sent to then Public Works Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson seeking the release of payment for road right-of-way claims.

Interestingly, the single-page letter did not bear Cruz’s full name, but only his supposed signature.

“According to them, that’s his [Cruz] signature,” Catapang said, referring to his cohorts.

But he said that the letter was only given to him by a friend and that it was not a certified true copy.

He said he saw at least two more letters of endorsement “signed” by Cruz with one of them bearing a letterhead of Malacañang.

According to Catapang, he started working with the syndicate in 2009 until he was eased out three years later when the leaders of the group, whom he had identified as Wilma Mamburan, a certain Col. Chino Mamburan, Merceditas Dumlao and Nelson Ti, decided to ditch him “because they already know who to work with.”

The witness said the first transaction he helped facilitate was for the payment of P18 million for the expropriation of a 1,500-square-meter property. He said the government should have paid only P20,000 for the land.

Lookout bulletin issued

He also maintained that Singson and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad were aware of the bogus transactions since they already knew that the scheme had been uncovered as early as 2011.

The Bureau of Immigration has issued a lookout bulletin against Singson, Abad and 41 others tagged in the scam. —WITH A REPORT FROM JULIE M. AURELIO