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THE
government has recovered a total of P757,633,714.17 from
the shares of Philippine Telecommunications Investment
Corp. (PTIC), according to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government
(PCGG).
In a
statement, the DOJ said the funds represent cash
dividends accruing to the 111,415 PTIC shares of stock
registered in the name of Prime Holdings Inc. (PHI) that
were declared by the Supreme Court on January 20, 2006,
as belonging to the Republic.
However,
the P757 million represents only a portion of the entire
cash dividends accruing to the PTIC shares, adding that
the commission is closely looking to collect even more
cash dividends earned by the shares, considering the
total covers the period as early as 1986.
The
recovery of these funds is a welcome development in
PCGG’s relentless efforts with the DOJ and the Office of
the Solicitor General (OSG) to fulfill the Commission’s
mandate of recovering assets, the PCGG emphasized.
This
recovery, likewise, raises to P89, 315,523,576.74, or
P89.315 billion, thus far the total cash recovery of the
PCGG, the PCGG added.
The PCGG
said the PTIC, through Banco de Oro, the depository bank
of the cash dividends, turned over to the PCGG the P757
million from the shares of PTIC, on August 5, in
response to the Sandiganbayan’s June 19, 2008, letter to
PTIC requiring it to account, deliver and transmit to
the Republic through the PCGG all cash, property and
stock dividends issued to the 111,415 PTIC shares
registered in the name of PHI; and the subsequent Notice
to Deliver issued by Sandiganbayan Sheriff Edgardo
Urieta to Banco de Oro.
The PCGG
said the P757 million is only the first tranche from the
entire cash dividends that accrue to the PTIC shares
adjudged by the High Court in favor of the government.
As the Sandiganbayan and other government agencies
determine the amount of cash dividends pertaining to the
PTIC shares, the court, as well as the PCGG, DOJ and OSG
will pursue their recovery.
With
these cash dividends, the PCGG is all set to transmit to
the National Treasury the recovered amount “as
additional and much-needed funding for the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program,” the PCGG said. |
