The lawyer for former First Lady Imelda Marcos has accused government lawyers of colluding with lawyers of business tycoon Lucio Tan to dump the government’s P51 billion lawsuit against his assets.
 
In an ambush interview at the Sandiganbayan, lawyer Robert Sison urged Congress to start an investigation into "irregularities" in the handling of Civil Case No. 0005 by lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and officials of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).
 
“This is a good opportunity to start a congressional inquiry to determine possible collusion between Lucio Tan and some influential people in government,” he said.
 
Sison appeared before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division last Wednesday to plead for the grant of a 10-day travel permit to Mrs. Marcos for her scheduled eye surgery in Singapore.
 
He expressed puzzlement on the decision of the OSG and the PCGG to remove erswhile government lead counsel Catalino Generillo from CC# 0005 when the latter has been doing a good job.
 
Generillo earlier succeeded in putting Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos on the witness stand and reportedly secured a commitment from Mrs. Marcos to testify next to corroborate her son’s statements.
 
In his testimony, Bongbong said his father made a diagram showing the extent of their family’s holdings in a number of Tan’s companies including Fortune Tobacco Corp., Asia Brewery, Allied Banking Corp., Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries, Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings, Dominium Realty and Construction Corp. and Shareholdings Inc.
 
Mrs. Marcos had earlier made a claim that her late husband owned some 60 percent of Tan’s assets in the said companies.
 
Sison explained that the Marcos family has been cooperating with Generillo to prove that Tan was simply holding Marcos interests in trust.
 
“The PCGG will try to prove that the Marcos stake in Tan’s companies was ill-gotten while we will try to convince the court that it was legitimately acquired. That is where we part ways,” he explained.
 
“I can’t understand why this case seems to have become OSG, Lucio Tan and PCGG vs. Imelda Marcos. Also, why is it that Atty. Generillo who was working earnestly removed at the request of (Lucio Tan’s lawyer) Atty. Mendoza?” he added.
 
Sison was referring to a November 17, 2008 letter of Mendoza addressed to PCGG Commissioner Narciso Nario questioning the appearance of Generillo as lead counsel in Tan’s case.
 
Mendoza invoked the Supreme Court pronouncement in the case of Gonzales vs. Chaves that "the Republic and all its instrumentalities, particularly the PCGG, must be represented in all actions by the OSG."
 
On December 3, 2008, the OSG declared it is taking over the prosecution of all PCGG cases and urged the commission to fire its lawyers.
 
Last May 21, PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede announced in a press conference that Generillo’s appointment will no longer be renewed.
 
Five days later, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera filed a manifestation before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division saying that Generillo’s deputation as government counsel ended on November 20, 2008 and was not renewed. The OSG likewise served notice that Generillo has no authorization to speak to the media about the details of the case.
 
The PCGG's and OSG's moves came after Generillo questioned the statement of the government that is is preparing to make a formal offer of exhibits in the case.
 
He said several issues remain unresolved like his motion to disqualify Mendoza for conflict of interest as a former Solicitor General and the appeal for the admission of the testimony of former Genbank executive Joselito Yujuico.
 
Generillo also stressed that Tan’s younger brother, Mariano Tanenglian, is serious about testifying for the government case but a formal offer of evidence by the government would effectively bar his testimony.
 
Sison agreed with Generillo.
 
“I cannot understand why the court did not rule on the motion for disqualification against Mendoza and why it required the PCGG to file a formal offer of exhibits despite the pendency of the motion for reconsideration on the resolution on the motion to expunge the Yujuico testimony. Hanggang hindi nare-resolve yung mga issue na yun, there should be a suspension of the formal offer,” Sison said.
 
“If Mariano (Tanenglian) musters enough strength to testify in court, we will turn the tables on them (Tan). If you hear what he has to say, Mrs. Marcos need not even testify anymore. Tanenglian has first-hand knowledge of all transactions between Pres. Marcos and Tan,” he said.