MANILA, Philippines – More personalities have been dragged in the investigation of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) into the alleged laundering of public funds by Vice President Jejomar Binay, his family, and his accomplices.
In the civil forfeiture case filed on November 12, AMLC sought a freeze order (provisional asset preservation order or PAPO) that covers assets under the names of more than 60 people and organizations.
Almost half of them were already identified in the original 6-month freeze order filed by AMLC on May 11, 2015 – including Binay, his family, and close associates – while the other half are new names, most of them relatives of those who were earlier identified.
There are 27 new names listed in the latest AMLC petition. They own bank accounts or properties covered by the freeze order petition.
The petition covers 139 bank accounts under the following:
| In earlier freeze order? | Number of solo bank account | Number of joint bank account | Total number of bank accounts | |
| Gerardo S. Limlingan Jr | yes | 6 | 26 | 32 |
| Bernadette C. Portollano | yes | 3 | 21 | 24 |
| Mario A. Oreta | yes | 3 | 14 | 17 |
| Eduviges D. Baloloy | yes | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Mitzi O. Sedillo | yes | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| Frederick D. Baloloy | yes | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Carmelita P. Galvan | yes | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Daniel C. Subido | yes | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Ernesto S. Mercado | yes | 7 | 7 | |
| Man Bun Chong | yes | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Antonio L. Tiu | yes | 4 | 4 | |
| Charisse Raissa P. Galvan | 4 | 4 | ||
| Gerardo Martin C. Limlingan | yes | 4 | 4 | |
| James L. Tiu | yes | 4 | 4 | |
| Pei Feng Lee | yes | 4 | 4 | |
| Erlinda S. Chong | yes | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Marguerite E. Lichnock | yes | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ann Loraine B. Tiu | yes | 2 | 2 | |
| Claude Kristoffer Sedillo | 2 | 2 | ||
| Edgar Romeo G. Galvan | 2 | 2 | ||
| Francisco Baloloy | yes | 2 | 2 | |
| Jejomar Erwin S. Binay Jr. | yes | 2 | 2 | |
| Jose B. Orillaza | yes | 2 | 2 | |
| Lily H. Crystal | yes | 2 | 2 | |
| Margarita Anne Aurea T. Subido | 2 | 2 | ||
| Pascual M. Garcia III | 2 | 2 | ||
| Tomas B. Lopez Jr. | 2 | 2 | ||
| Celeste Maya R. Limlingan | 1 | 1 | ||
| Edgardo G. Lacson | 1 | 1 | ||
| Ellen I. Pascua | 1 | 1 | ||
| Jejomar C. Binay | yes | 1 | 1 | |
| Jennifer V. Baloloy | yes | 1 | 1 | |
| Kristopher James D. Dueñas | 1 | 1 | ||
| Laureano R. Gregorio Jr. | 1 | 1 | ||
| Maria Luz A. Oreta | 1 | 1 | ||
| Maureen Ann O. Ferrer | 1 | 1 | ||
| Melisa Gay Limlingan-Manganip | yes | 1 | 1 | |
| Roselita H. Lopena | 1 | 1 |
It also identified 19 real properties under the following:
| In earlier freeze order? | Number of properties | |
| Edgardo G. Lacson | 3 | |
| Anna Marie A. Gregorio | 2 | |
| Cresenciano C. Dueñas | 1 | |
| Domingo C. Comia | 1 | |
| Ernesto S. Mercado | yes | 1 |
| Eulogio J. Comia | 1 | |
| Fernando V. Comia | 1 | |
| Francisco Baloloy | yes | 1 |
| Hilario A. Comia | 1 | |
| Hipolito V. Comia | 1 | |
| Narciso J. Comia | 1 | |
| Nery Sunga | 1 | |
| Renato Comia Sr. | 1 | |
| Renato V. Comia Jr. | 1 | |
| Rodelio C. Dueñas | 1 | |
| Romeo C. Dueñas | 1 |
Those whose names appear in the latest AMLC case include the following prominent personalities:
- Tomas Lopez Jr, University of Makati (UMak) president
- Edgardo Lacson, former director and treasurer of JC Binay Foundation
- Pascual Garcia III, former PSBank president who testified during the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief justice Renato Corona.
“Probable cause exists that the funds transacted by these persons and entities represent the proceeds of unlawful activities in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019), in relation to the Anti-Plunder Law (RA 7080), for which Binay is facing charges. Accordingly, the AMLC issued Resolution No. 65, Series 2015, authorizing the filing of a Petition for Civil Forfeiture,” said the petition.
Family affair
The list of implicated individuals in the civil forfeiture case indicates family relationships, as most of the identified personalities share the same surname.
The diagram below shows the family names that appear in the AMLC case, and the number of members mentioned per family. Hover over the figures below to see the names per family.
Binay's personal secretary Eduviges “Ebeng” Dueñas-Baloloy and his driver-bodyguard Renato Comia benefited the most, as they have the most number of relatives identified in the case.
Baloloy has the most number of solo bank accounts in the AMLC petition. (READ: Ebeng Baloloy: Binay's Girl Friday)
There's also the father-son tandem of VP Binay and suspended Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. The matriarch, Elenita Binay, was identified in the earlier freeze order, but was not mentioned in the latest AMLC case.
Joint bank accounts
The AMLC said Binay coursed his alleged money laundering scheme through the joint bank accounts.
It explained in the petition that for Binay's 2010 campaign, expenses withdrawn from his 4 bank accounts "were sourced from checks drawn against":
- 2 bank accounts in the names of Limlingan, Crystal, and Sedillo
- 1 bank account in the names of Baloloy and Limlingan
- 2 other bank accounts
"It appears that the election contributions to VP Binay were not deposited directly to any of his accounts but passed through the joint accounts of Limlingan, Baloloy, Sedillo, Crystal, Portollano, et al. This is consistent with Mercado’s testimony that some of the bags of cash that he personally delivered to Limlingan were intended to fund VP Binay’s election campaign," the petition said.
The AMLC also revealed that Binay's personal accounts don't reflect large transactions, leading to findings that "the accounts of other persons, such as Limlingan and Baloloy, were used for such transactions."
Binay's camp claimed that the AMLC petition is baseless and unathorized by law.
Binay's spokesperson for political concerns Rico Quicho said in an earlier press statement that the petition violates Republic Act 1379, which prohibits the filing of civil forfeiture cases against public officials "within one year before any general election or within three months before any special election."
Quicho said that despite the AMLC earlier claiming that Binay deposited billions of pesos in 242 bank accounts, it asked the Manila court to freeze only one account, "an admission that it had no solid evidence against Binay." – Rappler.com