RETIRED Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, former
comptroller of the Armed Forces, and his family have offered to
turn over assets worth P21 million to the government in exchange
for the dropping of the ill-gotten wealth case against them.
In a five-page letter to Special Prosecutor
Dennis M. Villa-Ignacio, Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert E.
Kallos and Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Humphrey T. Monteroso,
Rafael B. Zialcita of Zulueta, Puno and Associates, said Ligot
and his family are prepared to discuss details of an amicable
settlement.
Government lawyers sought the forfeiture of
P135.2 million worth of properties said to have been illegally
amassed by Ligot while holding various positions in the
military.
Ligot’s co-respondents are his wife Erlinda;
children Paulo, Riza and Miguel; his sister Miguela
Ligot-Paragas; and brother-in-law Edgardo T. Yambao who
allegedly acted as conduits or dummies of the retired general.
Ombudsman investigators said that based on
Ligot’s statement of assets and liabilities (SAL) from 1982 to
2003, his total income was P6,281,808.09 and his overall
expenses was P2,870,064.50, for an overall net income of
P3,411,743.59.
They said that anything beyond this amount
must be considered ill-gotten.
Among the assets eyed for confiscation are
peso and dollar bank accounts, real estate property in the
Philippines and in the United States, investments and several
motor vehicles.
Zialcita listed 25 Ligot assets with a
combined value of P20,930,115.96, not taking into account the
depreciation of several properties, including machinery, a
Toyota Hilux van and an Isuzu Elf truck.
Also included was $132,000 in cash which the
Ligot family said was all that was left of the proceeds of the
sale of two US properties since only the down payment had been
paid at the time the case was filed and the court issued freeze
orders.
Zialcita said only those properties which are
under the name of the Ligot family were included in the offer of
compromise.
"Properties not covered by this offer are in
the names of or actually owned by other people, and hence, it is
not proper for our clients to make an offer on the same," he
said.
The lawyer said the offer was extended simply
for the purpose of terminating the litigation as early as
possible.
"The offer of compromise should not be taken
as an admission of a liability on the part of our clients and
cannot be used as evidence against them," he said.
The Ligots added that they are willing to discuss additional
details with prosecutors. – Peter J.G. Tabingo
