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By Jayson Cruz Luna, Contributor
OWNERS of Green Cross Inc. said Friday they
would welcome the plan of the company’s former president, Gonzalo
Co It, to appeal the dismissal of the estafa case he has filed
against them.
Lawyer Michael So, Green Cross counsel said the
filing of a motion for reconsideration is a legal remedy available
to the complainant, Co It, who founded the company.
“It is the right of the prosecution to avail
of such. However, such a motion would be futile since the decision
of the Pasay RTC [Regional Trial Court] was granted based on the
evidence which the prosecution themselves presented,” So said in
an interview.
“Would it be ludicrous for them to appeal a
decision based on their fault? Will they admit that they committed a
mistake by presenting evidence that clearly shows that no estafa
was committed? Are they ready for it?”
Based on the evidence presented by the
prosecution, Pasay RTC Judge Eugenio De la Cruz cleared three
officials of Green Cross from estafa charges.
In a 17-page decision, the court said Co It knew
of the alleged criminal act that took place in 1986 when he approved
the company’s stock increase, and that he sold his remaining
shares willingly based on an Absolute Deed of Sale.
Co It alleged that his siblings Anthony Co,
Peter Co, and Mary Co Cho misappropriated his shares illegally,
resulting in his ouster from the company.
He claimed he merely entrusted 50 percent of his
shares to his siblings during the 1970’s by way of implied trust.
For his part, Anthony Co, the current Green
Cross president, said the family is elated over the decision.
The dismissed estafa charges are one of the
several criminal complaints Co It filed in different courts
against his three siblings and ten in-laws, nephews, and nieces, all
shareholders of the company.
Co It’s lawyer, Vincent Caoile, said they will
exhaust all legal remedies to continue his client’s “quest for
justice.”
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