Ligot in-law regains assets tied to ex-general’s graft case

Jacinto Ligot and wife, Erlinda

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has ordered the release of properties and investments in the name of a brother-in-law of former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller Jacinto Ligot, who, along with his wife Erlinda, is involved in a funds misuse scandal in the military.

Edgardo Yambao has regained ownership of the assets by virtue of a resolution promulgated on April 5 by the antigraft court’s Fourth Division, which granted his motion to release the attached properties and to cancel the annotation he filed on Dec. 9, 2021.

The properties listed under Yambao’s name were all included in his motion except for a condominium unit in Essensa East Forbes in Taguig City, which is among those found unlawfully acquired and forfeited along with the Ligots’ assets.

Yambao had filed a petition at the Supreme Court contesting the forfeiture of the Essensa unit, according to the resolution written by Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto and concurred in by Associate Justices Alex Quiroz and Lorifel Pahimna.

In March 2011, Yambao appeared in a Senate inquiry into military corruption and could not explain how he had amassed at least P255 million without a visible means of income.

He was described in the Senate hearings as a possible “dummy” of Ligot, a retired lieutenant general, but he denied that his brother-in-law had used him as a front for suspected ill-gotten wealth.

He claimed that he played the stock market and made extensive trips abroad from the late 1980s to early 2000. He said he gambled in Las Vegas and that he owned a house in and was a permanent resident of Australia.

Case respondent

Yambao, one of the respondents in the government’s case against Jacinto and Erlinda Ligot, has regained ownership of the properties that include condo units in Burgundy Plaza in Quezon City and Susana Heights in Mandaluyong City.

He also regained his investments and deposits at the Air Materiel Wing Savings and Loan Association Inc. (AMWSLAI) that has a capital contribution of P200,513.52 and a savings deposit dividend amounting to P100.

According to the antigraft court, the units in Burgundy Plaza and Susana Heights and the AMWSLAI investments and deposits are the only assets that were levied and garnished.

Yambao said in his plea last year that the court should release the properties by lifting the attachment order, arguing that its dismissal of the forfeiture case against him was already final.

In the resolution, the justices noted that “there was no longer any rationale to hold [Yambao’s] properties in custodia legis (custody of the law)…”

They also said the government had “no cause to satisfy a judgment” under Republic Act No. 1379, or the law declaring the forfeiture favoring the government over any property unlawfully acquired by any public officer or employee.

The resolution also cited the Sandiganbayan’s Feb. 3, 2021, decision which ordered the lifting of the writ of attachment on the properties after determining that Yambao had acquired the assets “independently of the respondents Ligot,” eventually leading to the junking of the case against him.

Last year, the court forfeited the Ligots’ P102 million worth of properties including two houses in California in favor of the government. Another forfeiture case filed in 2013 involving other assets worth P55.6 million is pending in court.

Tax evasion

In September 2011, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) ordered the arrest of Ligot and his wife on tax evasion charges.

The case stemmed from a Senate inquiry in that year into allegations that Ligot and other former ranking AFP officials were involved in the multimillion-peso “pabaon” (parting gift) funds misuse scandal.

Ligot served as comptroller under Gen. Angelo Reyes, AFP chief of staff, from 1999 to 2001 and since deceased.

In March 2011, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed a complaint at the Department of Justice against the Ligots for allegedly evading paying taxes from 2002 to 2004. The BIR said the husband and wife owed the government P290.2 million and P137.8 million, respectively, in unpaid taxes.

While in active service, according to the BIR, Ligot made substantial bank deposits and investments, including $1.28 million and $1.6 million with Citibank, and bought properties in Bukidnon and Rizal provinces, a condo unit in Makati, and a luxury vehicle.

Erlinda Ligot also allegedly made a deposit of $200,000 in Citibank.

But in January 2019, the CTA acquitted the couple of tax evasion, citing lack of evidence.

A separate forfeiture case was filed against the Ligots in the Sandiganbayan in 2005 for allegedly amassing P135.28 million in unexplained wealth. The assets allegedly included two houses in California and high-priced condo units.

In 2007, Ligot, through his lawyers, offered the government more than P20 million of his assets in exchange for the withdrawal of cases filed against him and his family. Malacañang rejected the offer.

P35K monthly pay

Ligot retired in 2004 with a monthly salary of at least P35,000, but reports of his unexplained assets reaching at least P60 million led to his being summoned by the House of Representatives’ committee on national defense in 2005.

He invoked his right against self-incrimination.

In April 2013, the Sandiganbayan ordered Ligot’s arrest after the Ombudsman filed 11 counts of perjury against him. He posted bail of P66,000.

In April 2014, the government filed a second forfeiture case against the couple in the Sandiganbayan.

In April 2019, the court’s First Division found Ligot guilty of six counts of perjury for failing to declare P135 million in properties in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth from 1998 to 2003. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment for each count of perjury.

But the court allowed him to post an additional bail bond of P6,000 while he made his legal defense.

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

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