Villar camp: ‘Illegal stock deal’ is black prop, or else sue us

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental—Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. on Thursday dismissed as black propaganda the accusations that he used his influence to manipulate the stock market and get favors for his companies.

"Alam mo, lahat na yan ay kasama sa programa na inaasahan natin hanggang dumating ang araw ng halalan... Maliwanag na wala akong ginagawang masama at pulitika lamang (You know, all of that comes with the program we expect until election day… It’s clear I did nothing wrong but just practice politics)," Villar told reporters in a press conference here.

He said it was not the first time that he heard of such allegation, adding that it was just being revived and dragged to divert the people's attention.

"Gusto nila alisin ang issue sa tanong kung sino ba talaga ang may kakayahan na mamuno ng ating pamahalaan, sino ba ang may track record maging pangulo ng bayan (They want to divert the issue from the question of who is truly capable of leading the government, who has the track record to serve as the country’s president)," he said.


'Discuss at proper forum'

He said it would be better for the issue to be discussed at the proper forum.

In a press statement, lawyer Nalen Rosero-Galang, Villar's chief legal officer, challenged former President Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to present documents and file charges in court against the NP presidential bet.

“We challenge them to file appropriate charges in courts and agencies against the senator and his companies, if indeed violations of laws were committed. Until that time, the public should know that this is clearly nothing but political mudslinging," she said.

Rosero-Galang explained that the public offering of the shares of stock of Vista Land & Lifescapes was done in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Regulation Code and the rules of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Estrada and Enrile earlier said Villar pressured the PSE board to approve the public offering of the stocks of the company, the proceeds of which they claim he used to fund his campaign to the detriment of the company’s Filipino stockholders.

“For the enlightenment of Mr. Estrada and his Honorable Enrile, the bulk of Vista Land shares, or 85 percent thereof, were taken up by foreign investors. So, how can they claim that Filipino investors were duped by Sen. Villar?" Rosero-Galang said.

'Deal was cleared by SEC and PSE'

She explained that the said public offering was duly passed upon and cleared by both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the PSE.

“There was full disclosure of all material information as required by law. There was an Offering Circular, which not only complied with Philippine legal requirements but also conformed to the international standards and practices," said Rosero-Galang.

She added that UBS Investment Bank acted as global coordinator and bookrunner of the international offering of the Vista Land shares, while BDO Capital & Investment Corporation acted as Issue Manager and Domestic Lead Underwriter.

She also said two reputable Philippine law firms – Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & Delos Angeles and Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos – and two reputable international law firms – Allen & Overy and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom – passed upon the legality of the share offer.

Rosero-Galang said the pricing of the shares for purposes of the public offer was arrived at through an international bookbuilding exercise that was coordinated by UBS.

“While it is true that Sen. Villar appeared before the PSE Board, there is nothing irregular with the said appearance. PSE listing applicants do that, when deemed necessary to secure the approval of their listing application," she said.

The lawyer said PSE is a private corporation, not a government agency and Senator Villar appeared in his private capacity, as a controlling shareholder of an applicant, not as a government official.

"The lock-up requirement which Vista Land requested the PSE to waive is a requirement under the rules of the PSE, not under any law or regulation. It is well within the power of the PSE to waive any of its rules on just and meritorious grounds. Senator Villar’s appearance was to explain the circumstances which make the request for waiver just and meritorious," she said.

“Most importantly, in the end, the PSE Board did NOT grant the requested waiver despite the appearance of Senator Villar," Rosero-Galang said.

This shows, she said, that the PSE Board was not influenced, much less pressured, by Senator Villar’s appearance before them.

"The PSE Board allowed the release from escrow of the shares of one corporation because the Board concluded that those shares were not subject to the lock-up requirement. To reiterate, contrary to the allegations of Mr. Estrada, no waiver was granted by the PSE Board," Rosero-Galang said.

She added, “Anent the accusations of Mr. Enrile, we have repeatedly stated that, to date, none of the Villar companies have undelivered undertakings or unpaid obligations to the Pag-IBIG or the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation."

“If they are insisting otherwise, they should present documents to the public, cite figures of any unpaid loan. If they cannot, they should stop rehashing issues, which have long been answered and settled."

Rosero-Galang also denied that Manuela Corporation ever obtained a loan or any credit accommodation from the GSIS or the SSS, and if Enrile insists otherwise, he should present documents to support his claims.

As to Capitol Bank, she said the Villar camp has stated several times that it has no unpaid deposits to its depositors and it has no unpaid obligations to the BSP.