The Department of Justice has started its preliminary investigation on the criminal complaint filed by 470 aggrieved plan holders against officials of Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corp., formerly Pacific Plans Inc.
The DoJ panel composed of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Ma. Christina G. Juanson and Assistant Prosecutor Ann S. Parong conducted the first hearing on the complaints filed by distressed plan holders against the board and executives of APEC.
The complainants accused 36 members of the board of the then-Pacific Plans, and now APEC, with 840 counts of “syndicated estafa by means of deceit” and 840 counts of “syndicated estafa by abuse of confidence.”
The respondents were not present during the first preliminary investigation hearing, but their lawyers were given copy of the complaint and annexes.
The complainants alleged that the company ran off with their investment.
“Ito po ang mga direktor ng kompanya na pasalin salin ng one year, na nahubaran ng 20 billion to 3 billion na lang ang natira ng asset ng kompanya. Ang resulta, itong mga almost 500 complainants ay natakbuhan ng kanilang investment,” complainants lawyer Joshua Santiago told reporters after the hearing.
(The revolving directors for the company in a year stripped the company of P20 billion, leaving only P3 billion in assets. This resulted in the company running away with the investments put up by the 500 complainants.)
“In June 2004, the PPI unilaterally transferred the assets and liabilities of its pension, memorial, and fixed-value educational plans to a new company, Lifetime Plans. Two months later, GPL holdings bought Lifetime Plans’ stake in PPI. In 2009, Noel Oñante of Zest Air acquired PPI,” the complainants said.
“They were only informed of the takeover through letters sent via mail,” they said, even as they claimed that no explanation was given to them.
“Sometime in [2004], the Department of Finance (DoF), which has supervision over corporate regulators, called for a probe on the series of inter-company transactions that eventually led to the sale of PPI. The company then had almost P17 billion in assets, nearly P3 billion in receivables from installment contracts, and 400,000 plan holders. Yet at the time of the sale, it claimed it had no resources to fund the claims,” the complainant stressed.
The complainants also claimed that in 2009, the company had “P591 million available as tuition assistance payments. Of the amount, P250 million came from Yuchengco Group of Companies head Alfonso Yuchengco, and P341 million from Pacific Plans itself. None of the money was distributed to the plan holders.”
Santiago said his clients are willing to reach a settlement. “The sentiments of the complainants are they just really wanted to be given what is due to them. They are very much willing to settle,” he added.
The prosecutors initially set the next hearing on June 14, and instructed that the respondents will have to appear before them to swear in their counter-affidavits.
Citing the volume of the annexes attached to the complaint that reach up to 2 feet when stacked, the lawyers of the respondents manifested a motion to extend.
The DoJ panel granted the motion to extend and gave the respondents until June 28 to submit their respective counter-affidavits.
The prosecutors warned the respondents that the date set is “non-extendible,” and the case “with or without counter-affidavits, will be deemed submitted for resolution.”
Respondents are Alfredo J. Non, Glenn Christofferson L. Pangilinan, Felix B. Desiderio Jr., Gertrudo A. de Leon, Liwayway F. Gener, Emelito A. Licerio, Lamberto D. Villena, Samuel V. Torres, Maribel A. Obidos, Roy G. Padiernos, Ricardo K. Chua, Flor Bella Monina A. Maranon, Ernesto C. Garcia, Alfonso `T. Yuchengco, Ambrosio Padilla, George Dee, Jr., Susanne Y. Santos, Helen Y. Dee, Paul Sycip, Edgardo S. Franco, Noli H. Benito, Ramon G. Vizmonte, Ma. Patricia E. Foria, Teodoro D. Banaag, Noel C. Oñate, Virgilio G. Farcon, Rodolfo G. Serrano, Jr., Ronaldo A. Geron, Rodolfo I. Samarista, Rolando I. Gonzalez, Ernesto C. Garcia, Sylvette Y Taniciang and Danilo P. Francisco.
The RCBC owner and family patriarch Alfonso T. Yuchengco was also named as a respondent, but he passed away April this year.
Although the older Yuchengco passed away last month, Santiago pointed out that other respondents can still be held liable under the law.