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Witness says Estrada intervened in stock manipulation probe

Asian Economic News, Jan 15, 2001

MANILA, Jan. 10 Kyodo

The former head of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) testified Wednesday in the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada that the president called him several times to pressure him to clear a friend linked to a stock manipulation scandal being investigated then.

Former PSE Chairman Jose Luis Yulo told the impeachment court that Estrada made at least four calls to him in November 1999 while the PSE compliance and surveillance group was investigating the stock manipulation scandal involving presidential friend Dante Tan.

Tan was implicated in a price-fixing scandal involving BW Resources Corp., of which he was a major shareholder.

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Yulo said during the calls that Estrada repeated that Tan was his friend and had been helping him for a long time.

In a call on Nov. 22, Yulo said Estrada told him the Securities and Exchange Commission ''is no longer investigating the case, it's only the PSE investigating now, so please expedite it.''

Yulo said on Nov. 23, Estrada called again, ''and this time he was a little bit more insistent. He said, 'Dante Tan told me he is not manipulating stocks. He is the victim here and he lost 2 billion pesos'.''

''He wanted me to clear Dante Tan, that is how I interpreted it,'' Yulo said.

On Feb. 14, 2000, after the probe report was submitted to the PSE Business Conduct and Ethics Committee, Yulo said he received a call from Estrada's office asking him to go to the presidential palace.

At the palace, Yulo said he and Ruben Almadro, head of the PSE Surveillance and Compliance Unit which conducted the probe, explained to Estrada that Tan was found to have ''blatantly'' manipulated the BW stocks and raked in hundreds of millions in profit as a result.

Yulo said Estrada repeated that Tan was the victim and not the culprit in the stock manipulation case.

Estrada also allegedly said Tan told him that he had already bribed then Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto Yasay.

Estrada denied, however, exerting pressure on Yulo and Almadro to exonerate Tan.

''I told them to release the report to the press and to investigate Tan,'' Estrada told reporters.

Estrada also denied inviting the two bourse officials to the palace, saying they went there of their own accord.

Yulo's testimony, as well as Almadro's testimony Tuesday and earlier Wednesday, was presented by the prosecution to show Estrada violated public trust by his move to exert pressure on the stock exchange officials.

The House of Representatives impeached Estrada on Nov. 13 on charges of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

In a radio interview earlier Wednesday, Tan claimed he paid Yasay and Almadro to clear his name in the stock market scandal.

Tan said he turned over $50,000 in cash and 200,000 BW shares to Yasay after a lawyer who served as Yasay's ''bagman'' solicited the money and stocks on behalf of Yasay.

Tan also alleged he paid a total of 2.4 million pesos ($48,000) to Almadro, who offered to help defend him and point out loopholes in the investigation report on the stock manipulation scandal that he himself had prepared.

Yasay and Almadro both denied receiving money from Tan.

Tan said he realized his disclosure was bad for him but that he broke his silence because he was fed up with the statements of Yasay and Almadro.

Estrada's impeachment followed accusations by his estranged drinking and gambling buddy, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Singson, that he pocketed up to $11 million in bribes from illegal gambling and tobacco excise taxes.

Witness says Estrada intervened in stock manipulation probe

Asian Economic News, Jan 15, 2001

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