Where’s Geronimo Velasco’s ill-gotten wealth?

Frankly Speaking
By Frank Wenceslao

Former Energy Minister Geronimo Z. Velasco signs the bilateral agreement in behalf of the Philippine government. Thus began the partnership with New Zealand that led to EDC’s enviable position as one of the top geothermal world leader. (File Photo)

If the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) were a boxer, it hasn’t landed a punch on Marcos’ biggest crony, Geronimo Z. Velasco, to make him taste the sequestration of even a small part of his huge ill-gotten wealth; neither has there been a record of the PCGG scratching one of Velasco’s expensive cars by impounding it like the PNP recovering a stolen vehicle! Why is that? Is it incompetence or inutility?

I’ve dug up several explanations, accidentally I’d say. Everybody must be surprised that Velasco up to his death in California in 2007 remained under the radar of PCGG’s, DOJ’s and Ombudsman’s since Marcos was ousted in 1986 by the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolt led by a triumvirate of Cory Aquino who replaced Marcos as President; then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile; and Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, who succeeded Cory Aquino as President.

Evidence suggests that Enrile has been Velasco’s protector and his huge ill-gotten wealth from PCGG sequestration or recovery by the courts even though this may not be for long if the Ombudsman added conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction of justice, among others, to Enrile’s charges for protecting Velasco’s illegally acquired assets during and after the Marcos regime from being recovered by the government on top, of course, of Enrile’s plunder charges for involvement in the pork barrel scams of Janet Lim Napoles. People will recall I’ve advocated that Enrile be pardoned by President Noynoy Aquino for helping oust Marcos however it looked from his personal motivation.

But as I get to know more about Enrile’s role in the 1986 EDSA Revolt and the material benefits he derived from it, I decided to let justice take its course and, if Enrile is found guilty of plunder finally, I’d be among those who’ll grieve how a beautiful life he’s lived could end so miserably.

According to a report I got, on the day (2/25/86) that Marcos fell, the PNOC’s Lear jet flew Velasco to Singapore with Enrile’s permission and was, moreover, assigned an army officer to be Velasco’s bodyguard. This army officer and the plane’s crew are still around. They can verify this information in which the Ombudsman should look into since the officer and his men would testify they were ordered by Enrile that rather than arresting Velasco he was given safe-conduct pass, escorted to the airport and allowed to leave the country for Singapore on PNOC’s Lear jet. The army officer and his men were also asked by Velasco to load several suitcases and bundles that most probably contained important documents and plenty of cash.

I was also told, however, by another source the Lear jet Velasco used to fly to Singapore couldn’t have brought along the suitcases and bundles of documents that looked like containing plenty of cash, let alone included the PNOC’s $480-million special fund later found missing whose withdrawal could be authorized by Marcos and/or Velasco only. It’s possible though that Velasco must’ve given Enrile a share of the money, which means only Enrile is the only person alive who knows whether or not Velasco had given him a share of the PNOC’s special fund.

But then if such big amount of money were deposited equally among Marcos, who couldn’t care less at the time whether or not he got his right share, Velasco and Enrile in Chinese, British or U.S. banks in Singapore or Hong Kong, the banks can be legally asked now to open their records to the FBI and USDOJ investigators unlike before when there weren’t yet international agreements for banking records to be opened to authorized investigators. This is a standard practice today if banking records are needed evidence during the legal discovery process of a court case which can be checked fast thru information technology.

That’s why locating Velasco’s ill-gotten assets is easier to locate now thru forensic audit if the legitimate growth of assets and net worth are within the statistical probability of an individual or corporate growth rate. Before, his family’s lawyers can’t block legal actions that look into ill-gotten assets such as bank deposits, real estate property and other acquisitions, which is now permissible under international cooperation agreements against corruption (ICAACs), such as the UNCAC, OECD, etc. and the PHL-USA Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). The latter took effect in November 1994 and could’ve been invoked effectively by the PCGG with tools, weapons, prosecutorial discretion, and the U.S. National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy whose spearhead is the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) allowing cross-border investigation, prosecution and extradition of those accused of corrupt practices at home whose proceeds are transferred such as the examples below.

In fairness to the Velasco family, when Marcos tapped Velasco to be his energy minister and Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) chairman during the oil crisis in 1973 which was the government oil monopoly for 13 years. A shadowy company, Gervel, an acronym made up of the first syllables of his first and last name immediately became vital to Velasco’s activities as PNOC chairman. Gervel began to be suspected as his conduit to siphon off millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks and rebates from PNOC, whether known or not Marcos was sharing in the take.

Gervel was set up as a holding company for Velasco’s interests in the Philippines in 1964 before Marcos became President. According to a source with access to Gervel’s incorporation papers, Velasco owns 25 percent of the company and his three sons and two daughters own another 25 percent. The president is Alfredo R. De Borja, a Velasco nephew by one of his cousins. After Velasco joined Marcos Cabinet, De Borja did not respond to any inquiry or return phone calls to his office why Gervel’s corporate documents are not on file at the PHL Securities and Exchange Commission.

The picture becomes progressively more intricate as it moves outside the Philippines. The house in California where Velasco stayed in the United States was bought in 1979 for $925,000 by a Hong Kong-registered company, Decision Research Management Ltd., according to California records. De Borja, who is listed as a director of Decision Research, signed as ”attorney in fact” when the purchase was made. In a secluded, wooded area of expensive residences in the hills west of Palo Alto, the home has an elaborate security system. When a visitor spoke through the call box at the gate, a woman refused to say who owned the house.

Decision Research also bought a condominium apartment in a luxury building atop Russian Hill in San Francisco in 1977, with De Borja again signing as agent, according to records in the County Recorder’s Office. The unit was sold in 1984 for nearly $400,000. Decision Research bought another condominium in Century City in Los Angeles in 1982, which was assessed a year later at $561,000.

But who owns Decision Research? Documents at the company’s register in Hong Kong show that of its 10,000 shares, 9,998 are controlled by Wellwyn Investment Corporation of Panama. The two other shares are owned by two of Velasco’s sons. The only address for Decision Research is the SGV office in Hong Kong. Similarly, the only address for Wellwyn Investment is Johnson, Stokes & Master, a British law firm in Hong Kong that specializes in handling dummy companies.

Velasco used to maintain two homes in the Philippines, a mansion in Dasmariñas Village, Makati and a spectacular, isolated resort house on the side of a cliff overlooking the South China Sea on the Bataan Peninsula. His beach house can only be reached by helicopter or boat.

IN CONCLUSION, Pamusa’s mission is becoming more and more interesting. While some of my colleagues and Pamusa’s supporters have become impatient whether this movement will help to effectively fight graft and corruption in the Philippines, it may be the good fortune of those of us who stay the course that Pamusa’s best days are yet to come.

For instance, I’ve just received another FCPA update that last March 5 this year the USDOJ had frozen over $458 million of ill-gotten assets that former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and co-conspirators had stashed in bank accounts across the globe. The USDOJ is seeking to recover almost $100 million more. The largest-ever action for kleptocracy forfeiture brought in the United States, this case is a victory for the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, a program launched by the DOJ Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section in 2010. Incidentally, I’m relying on U.S. Asst. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell to make a name for herself in recovering Velasco’s ill-gotten wealth like that of ex-Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and ex-South Korea’s President Chun.

This is followed a Sept. 3, 2014 announcement the USDOJ seized assets from the family of former South Korean president, Chun Doo-hwan. The USDOJ says it seized $500,000.00 a daughter-in-law of Chun′s invested in a Pennsylvania company. In another statement, the assistant attorney in the case said former president Chun had received some 200-million dollars in bribes from Korean companies while in office and had laundered his ill-gotten gains in Korea and the U.S. Last February, U.S. authorities seized more than $700,000 from the former president′s second son following in selling his California house.

Chun Doo-hwan, now 83 years old, took power after the 1979 assassination of longtime military ruler Park Chung-hee, and was president for eight years, which were tarnished by a vast amount of corruption. Similar to Marcos and Velasco, Chun is out of office now for 28 years.

Certainly not willing to be left out in the game, my colleagues and I decided we need a big law firm to bring kleptocracy forfeiture action against the estate of Marcos’ energy minister, Geronimo Z. Velasco, Sr. Velasco’s estate reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars with his widow, three sons, two daughters and his trusted associates led by Amb. Bienvenido Tan, Alfredo R. de Borja and Ms. Carmencita Clavecilla will have to answer some questions concerning their relationships with the late Geronimo Velasco and the members of his family especially Geronimo Velasco, Jr. Our lawyers are certain Velasco’s estate will be investigated for probable violation of the FCPA since the estate has expanded under the U.S. jurisdiction and everyone concerned will be asked about the businesses the deceased conducted mostly in the U.S. from the time he relinquished his positions as Marcos’ energy minister and PNOC chairman, managing this Philippine oil monopoly.

Tan will answer questions if it weren’t clear conflict of interest for him to accept President Cory Aquino’s BIR commissioner while he’s Chairman of the Board of Velasco’s Republic Glass Corporation and he didn’t relinquish the position even when the RGC was expanded to be a holding corporation of a number of companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands outside Philippine jurisdiction with regards to taxation and other national government concerns.

De Borja will be asked who was or still the real owner and controlling interest of the Hong Kong-registered Decision Research Management Ltd. and the Wellwyn Investment Corporation of Panama, both of which he transacted businesses such as the late Geronimo Velasco’s high-end condominium apartments in California.

Ms. Clavecilla should be prepared to answer questions on the amounts of money she received for Mr. Velasco or Gervel and what did she do with these?

The abovementioned persons should take note that the questions to be asked will be at the FBI’s or its Philippine counterpart’s options and care should be taken Geronimo Velasco’s estate won’t be declared totally ill-gotten and illegitimate acquired while he’s Marcos energy minister and PNOC chairman, thus entirely forfeitable to the state or Philippine Treasury.

Pamusa, on the other hand, will be happy to get a reward equal to 10% of the realizable amount of taxes, surcharges, and penalties due the government from the forfeited assets illegitimately acquired by Mr. Geronimo Z. Velasco and members of his family.

Since cases like this are bound to arise over time, the BIR and DOF should now clarify the clear policy that will govern the amount of reward a whistleblower or a corruption hunter is entitled to.