Court junks $2-M forfeiture case vs Nani Perez, kin
The Sandiganbayan has junked the $2-million forfeiture case against former Justice Secretary Hernando “Nani” Perez and his brother-in-law Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr. for lack of evidence.
The antigraft court, in a resolution on June 17, granted the demurrer to evidence filed by Perez and Arceo, who were both tagged as the owners of the bank account that received alleged extortion money in 2001 from then Manila Rep. Mario Crespo, more known as Mark Jimenez.
Jimenez, who was widely known in Philippine politics during the 1990s and 2000s, died in 2017 at the age of 70.
The money involved in the Perez-Arceo cases was supposedly paid by Jimenez so he could escape investigation over his alleged involvement in the plunder case against former President Joseph Estrada. Jimenez, who had a falling out with Estrada, also wanted to turn state witness in the case.
The alleged payoff to Perez, which was purportedly coursed through the bank account of businessman Ernest Escaler in Hong Kong, became the subject of the forfeiture of unlawfully acquired properties case because the amount was not declared in the 2001 and 2002 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of the former justice secretary.
In throwing out the case, the Sandiganbayan pointed to the absence of “probative value” of the bank documents presented as evidence by the prosecution and was therefore “insufficient” to prove the claims in the complaint against Perez and Arceo.
“Based on the evidence presented, it failed to establish that (Perez) et. al. acquired a considerable amount of money or property that is manifestly out of proportion to their salary and other lawful income,” the court said in its 45-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Karl Miranda.
The court noted that none of the witnesses confirmed the authenticity of the bank records from Hong Kong, making the documentary evidence mere “hearsay” and lacking in value.
“In fact, none of them was privy to the transactions [or] documents. No other evidence was shown to establish their due execution and authenticity,” it said.
Perez and Arceo filed the demurrer to evidence in May last year, citing insufficiency of evidence. It is a legal remedy sought when a respondent sees that the evidence submitted by a petitioner is not enough for the case to proceed further. When a court grants a demurrer to evidence, the charges will be junked.
In 2017, the Sandiganbayan denied an earlier motion by Perez with Escaler to dismiss the $2-million forfeiture case due to the failure of the respondents to present “any tenable ground” to drop the case.
