MANILA, Philippines – The man reportedly used as a dummy by the family of former Armed Forces comptroller Jacinto Ligot denied on Friday that he has a pending court case in Makati arising from the P250 million he allegedly stashed in various bank accounts.

Edgardo Yambao’s lawyer, Emiliano Bantog, said his client does not have a pending case before the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 61.

He added that previous tax evasion charges against Yambao were dropped because authorities failed to prove that he amassed the money used to buy properties before the period when Yambao declared that he had no income.

“He [Yambao is] not aware of any cases pending against him. We have no case pending with [the Makati RTC] Branch 61 or any other court,” Bantog said.

"He is denying ownership, referring to P255 million or what was reported to be P300 million,” the lawyer added. “He’s denying owning that figure. He’s not aware of anything close to that amount.”

Bantog added that the Anti-Money-Laundering Council (AMLC) has already frozen the account

Senator Franklin Drilon has called for the filing of tax evasion charges against Yambao, a brother-in-law of Ligot.

He said Yambao did not file income tax returns from 1999 to 2003 but was able to buy properties worth millions.

“Obviously, this person was lying, [and committed] perjury,” Drilon said. 

“I am asking the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] to file tax fraud cases against him. He couldn’t produce P255 million out of thin air. These are on record in the AMLC.” – ABS-CBN News Channel