The Supreme Court has paved the way for the prosecution of the owner of Legacy Banks, its 86 depositors and a bank branch manager for estafa through falsification of documents, perjury and money laundering for allegedly duping the government through fraudulent deposit insurance claims amounting to P97.73 million.
In an 18-page decision, the SC’s Third Division through Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. ordered the reinstatement of the June 3, 2016 resolution issued by then Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas, which found probable cause to indict spouses Manu and Champa Gidwani, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Bacolod Main branch manager Andrew A. Jereza and 86 others for the alleged crimes.
The SC set aside the Jan. 31, 2017 decision of the Court of Appeals that reversed Caparas’ resolution and ordered the dismissal of the complaint.
The high tribunal held that former Justice Secretary Caparas “has the power and discretion” to assess the documents and pleadings submitted to him for review and come up with his own finding. Rey E. Requejo
“He is not bound by the rulings of his predecessors because there is yet to be a final resolution of the issue; the matter is still pending before his officer after all. To hold otherwise would render the filing of the motion a futile exercise, and the recourse, pointless,” the SC pointed out.