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By Francis Earl A. Cueto
, Reporter
Rep. Ferdinand “Bong-bong”
Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte will testify today before the
Sandiganbayan against tycoon Lucio Tan, but he is doing this not to
serve the government’s objectives but the Marcos family’s claim
to be the owner of a substantial part of at least nine Tan
corporations, the Presidential Commission on Good Government’s
Legal Affairs commissioner, Nicasio Conti, said on Tuesday.
Conti said the Office of the
Solicitor General will present Marcos as a hostile witness in Civil
Case No. 005 against Tan.
Bongbong will be serving as a
hostile witness as under Section 12, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court
which provides that a party may present a hostile witness or a
person having adverse interest.
“It is expected that Bongbong
Marcos will testify on his family’s claim against the interest of
Mr. Lucio Tan, which is consistent with the earlier assertion of his
mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos,” Conti said.
Mrs. Marcos had earlier claimed
that her family has shares in several companies owned by Tan.
Reports said Marcos will present
documents to prove that his father, the late strongman Ferdinand
Mar-cos, owns 60 percent of Tan’s Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery,
Allied Bank and Foremost Farms corporations.
Among Tan’s other assets are
Shareholdings Inc., Grandspan Development Corp., Himmel Industries
Inc., Silangan Holdings Inc., Basic Holdings Corp., Falcon Holdings
Corp. and Supreme Holdings Inc.
PCGG officials also said they
secured Bongbong’s appearance at the Sandiganbayan to compel him
to produce and testify on documents earlier marked in evidence by
Mrs. Marcos’ lawyers pertaining to the numerous corporations
belonging to Tan.
The PCGG, meanwhile, said it will
also study the complaint filed by former congresswoman Imee Marcos,
sister of Rep. Bongbong Marcos, who claims that the Marcos family is
the rightful owner of the shares held by the Duavit family in the
GMA television network.
She asked the SEC to stop the
scheduled public listing of GMA Network Inc. on grounds that the
Marcos family owns 28.5 percent of the company and has not been
consulted.
Despite Imee Marcos’ claim, the
SEC did not stop the listing. SEC Commissioner Juanito Cueto said
only the court can stop it.
The Duavit family maintained they
have always owned all their GMA shareholdings.
Meanwhile, the PCGG also on
Tuesday announced it was revoking the immunity from suits it had
agreed with lawyer Jesus Disini because it has become a legal
obstacle for the agency to use him as a witness against his cousin,
Herminio Disini, who promoted the construction of the mothballed
$2.1-billion Bataan nuclear power plant and allegedly received
kickbacks from the builders.
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