AFTER over 25 years, the Office of the Ombudsman is now able to complete the “successful” recovery of the ill-gotten wealth of ex-mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna and his wife Editha Vito-Sanchez.
Last March 1, the Ombudsman obtained copies of the transfer certificates of title of the 19 real properties now registered in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
The TCTs were forwarded to the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Treasury.
The 19 properties all located in Calauan, Laguna formed part of the illegal wealth of Sanchez.
In July 18, 2016, the Sandiganbayan ordered the forfeiture of Sanchez’s real properties, a residential building, two units of Mercedez Benz 1987 model 230E series, a 1991 Dodge Caravan van, share in ERAIS lending business, including accrued dividends, and P246,120 in cash and bank accounts.
Sanchez, then the vice mayor of Calauan as a fourth class municipality, was entitled to a per diem of P992 per municipal council session, or P3,968.00 per month, the anti-graft court said.
As mayor from 1980 to 1981, he was entitled to a monthly maximum salary of P17,724, P26,388 monthly wage from 1981 to 1986, and P10,443 from 1988 when Calauan was downgraded to a fifth class town.
Based on their joint income tax returns from 1986 to 1992, the Sanchez couple had a total of P855,073.88 as declared income after tax during the six-year period.
The Sandiganbayan took into account the gross disproportion of the couple’s declared income against their lavish lifestyles, such as being able to send their three children to Hurtwood House, an exclusive school in London costing P1,000,000 per child; travel expenses for frequent trips abroad to the United States of America, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong, China; a lavish birthday party with 550 guests at the Manila Hotel; 19 real properties with improvements; three luxury vehicles; a house and lot; business interests in ERAIS Lending, and bank accounts.
“We find that respondents’ assets and expenses are grossly and manifestly disproportionate to their legitimate income and thus, these assets and the funds used for the disproportionate expenses were unlawfully acquired, and hence, subject to forfeiture,” its previous 33-page decision read.
In explaining the delay in resolving the case, the anti-graft court said “the resolution of this case was delayed by years of attempts at arriving at an amicable settlement, not to mention numerous postponements granted by the Court. From the records of this case, it is evident that a large chunk of the blame for the years of delay must lie with the respondents who, for a time, managed to persuade this Court to suspend trial in order to give the parties a chance to settle the case amicably.”
“Later on, it became clear that respondents’ supposed attempts at compromise were hollow and insincere serving no other purpose than significantly halting the trial. Add to that, this case was also plagued with an extraordinary number of postponements sought by respondents because of their revolving door of lawyers,” it added.
In a 33-page July 18, 2016 decision, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division Associate Justice Rafael Lagos ordered the seizure of the “unlawfully acquired properties” of Sanchez and Editha, saying the evidence “shows that respondents have accumulated more wealth than they should have gotten through legitimate sources.”
On March 14, 1995, Sanchez, along with some of his henchmen, was convicted for rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and murder of her boyfriend, Allan Gomez, both students of the University of the Philippines, Los Baños in Laguna in June 2013.