Tycoon charged for bad checks

A lending firm filed  criminal charges in the Manila  City’s Prosecutor’s Office yesterday against investments tycoon and plastics king William Gatchalian, father of Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian,  for allegedly issuing   P26 million in  bad checks to settle a loan eight years ago.

Scepter Lending Corp. (formerly Goldmine Lending Corp.), represented by its vice president for operations Jose Baizas, charged Gatchalian,  Wellex Group chairman, with eight counts for  violating  Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, or the bouncing checks law,  for eight postdated checks he allegedly issued from April 2003  to July 2003.

Encashed

In the complaint, Baizas alleged that from April to July 2003, Gatchalian negotiated and encashed eight Equitable PCI Bank postdated checks with amounts ranging  from P2 million to P7 million with the lending firm.

The complainant attached a May 12, 2003, letter allegedly written by Gatchalian stating that he had sent postdated checks to settle a P14 million loan from the company which was due on April 16, 2003.

Revised

The letter said  the payment schedule for the loan had been revised because of “the delay of Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) in the completion of the payment for the amended lease agreement we executed with them.”

Baizas, however, claimed, that when the checks were presented to the bank, these were not honored because the “payments stopped.”

“Complainant demanded from respondent (Gatchalian) that the latter make good the value of the checks.  However, respondent, with evident bad faith and deceit, refused to comply with said demand,” the lending firm official said.

Baizas attached a Nov. 15 demand letter from the law firm of lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan where Gatchalian was given a week to “kindly make good” the total amount of the checks totaling P26 million.

Failure

Gatchalian’s alleged failure to comply with the demand prompted the filing of the charges against him, with the complainant citing provisions of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (estafa) and BP Blg. 22 and prayed that eight counts of the proper offense be filed in  court against the businessman.

According to its website, the Wellex group is among the biggest investment firms in the country, with interests in the hotel business, real estate  development, oil, mining, aviation, trading and banking.