Antonio Tiu: ‘I’m not guilty of any crime’

Antonio Tiu. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines―An emotional Antonio  Tiu  held a press conference  on Wednesday, lambasting the Senate  blue ribbon subcommittee for allegedly subjecting  him to  “ridicule” and  “insults” when  he appeared twice  in its hearings.

“Inuulit ko po (I repeat), I’m not  a dummy.  I’m not a money launderer. I’m not guilty  of any crime,”   Tiu  said  when he started his press conference in Quezon City, reading from his  prepared statement in his laptop.

The  businessman has been tagged as the  alleged dummy of Vice  President Jejomar Binay  for the controversial property in Rosario town, Batangas province. Both denied  the  allegation.

Tiu said  he was  abroad  when his name was dragged  into the  controversy.

“While abroad, I received several text messages warning me to cooperate if I wanted a free pass. Otherwise, various government agencies will start to run after me. To my mind, these  text messages  constitute real threats and blackmails,”  Tiu said.

“I went to Senate inquiry as  a resource person. But to my total dismay, I was accused of being a dummy,  a money launderer, a tax evader and  a dishonest businessman.”

Tiu’s voice started to crack   when he made the following  statements: “My patient explanation of my business practices  was ridiculed , constantly  interrupted and branded as lies.   Instead of focusing on the alleged overpricing of the  Makati City Hall 2 parking  building, I found myself  being grilled by the senators on the issues that have nothing  to  do on the supposed subject matter,” Tiu  said.

Then  addressing  the senators,  the businessman  asked  how he and his Sunchamp  Agri-Tourism Park   had been  dragged into the  subcommittee’s  investigation  on the allegedly   overpriced  parking building  in Makati City.

“Because they can’t find any evidence against me, the senators have unleashed against my companies the full arsenal of the government ― BIR, AMLC, DENR, DAR, NBI and SEC,” he said.

BIR is  Bureau of Internal Revenue,  AMLC is  Anti-Money Laundering Council,  DENR is  Department of Environment  and  Natural  Resources DAR is  Department of  Agrarian Reform, NBI is National Bureau of Investigation while SEC is  Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee of the three is complainant, prosecutor and   judge,”  said the businessman, apparently referring to Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Antonio Trillanes IV, and  Alan Cayetano, who were actively  attending the  hearings.

“I’m standing  by the truth   that I’m a  buyer of the  Rosario property in good faith,” Tiu  said.

While  he “quietly suffered the  insults thrown  at me by the honorable  senators,” Tiu  said  he accepted them  all  but not when  Cayetano forced  him to disclose  his  bank accounts,  which  he said had put him and his family in danger.

“Ang sabi niya, hindi naman daw mapanganib ang gagawin kong ito dahil pwede naman daw akong makipagtawaran sa mga kidnappers kung sakaling kidnappin ako  o sino mang miyrmebro ng aking pamilya. Senator Cayetano, tama po ba at makatao na gawin niyong biro ang kidnapping? Tama po ba na sa kagustuhang ipahiya ako ginawa ninyong katatawanan ang isyu ng kidnapping lalo na sa aming miyembro ng Filipino-Chinese community na araw-araw humaharap sa panganib na ito?” Tiu asked.

“Sen. Cayetano ano ang mararamdaman ninyo kung ginawa kong biro ang kidnapping at ang pamilya ninyo ang pinagtungkulan ko? Di ka ba masayang pinagbintangan mo ako ng walang basehan? Pinahiya mo ako ng paulit-ulit sa harapan ng taumbayan at ngayon gusto mo namang ipain ang buhay ko pati pamilya ko sa mga kidnappers?” he said.

Tiu pointed out that kidnapping  is a serious and  real threat for Chinese-Filipino businessmen like him.