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The Court of Appeals has issued an injunction, preventing PNoy uncle Ernesto Teopaco, his partner Nadecor chairman Jose Ricafort and president Jose "Ping" de Jesus from rescinding a mining agreement with Toronto-listed St. Augustine Gold and Copper over the contested King-king mine, but the order came a little too late, a company official said.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said the alleged court order was "not properly served," as only a faxed copy was shown during Wednesday afternoon's shareholders' meeting.
The order would have also restored Conrado Calalang as Nadecor chairman, as well as Ricafort's son, Raymond, who is opposed to his father, back into Nadecor management.
According to the grapevine, Calalang and his group walked out of the meeting after the Teopaco-Ricafort group pushed through with their agenda, including the ratification of the 25 percent acquisition of Nadecor by Queensberry Mining and Development Corp., a company controlled by Senator Manuel Villar Jr.
Marcos heirs vs. Marcos cronies
The non-bailable syndicated estafa case filed by Marcos son-in-law Gregorio Araneta III and wife Irene against the Panlilios of Puerto Azul fame over the sale of Luneta Hotel has been ordered revived by the Court of Appeals.
In a ruling released last week, appellate justices Ramon Cruz, Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente and Antonio Villamayor also rebuffed then Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera for grave abuse of discretion in reversing Prosecutor Philip de la Cruz and ordering in 2009 the withdrawal of the criminal case against Erlinda Enriquez-Panlilio, her children Jose Marcel and Nicole, and their two lawyers.
The Marcos heirs have accused the Panlilios, one of the so-called cronies of President Marcos during his undisputed rule in the 1970s to 1980s, of fraudulently selling the art deco hotel in 2007, despite the 1918-era building and the 500-square-meter land it is built on having been conveyed way back in 1973 by the Panlilios right after acquisition to a private firm, H.E. Heacock Resources.
The 1973 sale was brokered, according to the grapevine, by Westinghouse agent for the Bataan nuclear plant, Herminio Disini, acting in behalf of the owners then, the Dayrit family.
The Panlilio children, among other defenses, said they could not have committed syndicated estafa since they were only nine and four years old in 1973 when their parents and clan matriarch signed the trust agreement with H.E. Heacock Resources, now represented by the Araneta couple, who were incidentally then 25 and, in the case of Irene Marcos, 12.
In rejecting their defense, Justice Cruz said the Panlilio children were not being charged for any 1973 offense, but rather "for their participation in the formation of a new corporation for the purpose of facilitating the sale of the land with improvement which has been clearly established as belonging to (Rizal Park Hotel Inc.)," the listed original owner of the Luneta Hotel.
The appeals court noted that not only were the original title and the shares of stock to the Luneta Hotel still being held by the Marcoses, the Panlilios and their two co-accused lawyers, Marlo Cristobal and Herminio Valerio, had even formed a similarly-named company, the Rizal Park Hotel Corp., to fraudulently seek a new title to the same property.
"Here, the five private respondents committed a concerted act consisting of several transactions with the sole intention of converting the investment of Heacock for their
own benefit," the Court of Appeals said. "The investment of Heacock (in Luneta Hotel) disappeared in thin air..."
The court also noted that the Panlilios attempted to first sell the property in 1987, only a year after President Marcos was ousted from Malacanang.
The sale was rescinded after the Registry of Deeds, noting the different typewritten fonts in the original and duplicate titles, refused to transfer the title to prospective buyer Morning Star Travel.
Heard through the grapevine
The Pecabar law firm, whose first two letters stand for Juan Ponce Enrile, will represent the Malaysian group Berjaya and its Philippine subsidiary, Philippine Gaming Management Corp., in its breach of contract case against the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and its favored contractor, the Pacific Online System Corp. of Negros Rep. Albee Benitez and businessman Willy Ocier.
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