GENERALS ... ON THE GRILL !
AU TOUR DE ... LIGOT !
Senator Franklin Drilon on Thursday questioned former military comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot how his brother-in-law acquired P300 million in cash and assets from 1999 to 2004 despite being unemployed.
Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, asked Ligot how his brother-in-law Edgardo Yambao made so much money and bought expensive properties without having any declared mode of income.
He explained that Yambao retired in 1999 and did not file an income tax return from then until 2004. During this time, he said millions were deposited to his bank account.
"He is a mysterious person here," Drilon said during the day's Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Drilon likewise questioned Ligot and his wife's sale of a 290-square kilometer unit in Essensa Forbes Condominium in Fort Bonifacio, Global City to Yambao in 2005. The property was supposedly sold at P25 million and is now valued at P35 million.
Ligot, however, first denied knowing anything about owning such a property, saying his wife was just a trustee for the principal Yambao. But Drilon asked why Yambao - as the principal - would sell his own property to himself.
The senator likewise showed a deed of sale showing Ligot as a signatory.
Ligot admitted that "it seems to be" his signature, after which he invoked his right against self-incrimination because the matter is already pending with the Sandiganbayan through a forfeiture case.
Drilon asked Ligot to bring his wife Erlinda, who had earlier skipped the hearing due to health reasons, and Yambao to the next Senate hearing. Ligot agreed.
It was earlier revealed that Mrs. Ligot purchased several expensive properties in the United States, which include a house in Anaheim (reportedly worth $504,000) and Buena Park ($183,868) in California.
Ligot was the predecessor of Carlos Garcia, who is also accused of amassing more than P300 million in state funds while he was still in service. He was comptroller from 1999 to 2001.
Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, asked Ligot how his brother-in-law Edgardo Yambao made so much money and bought expensive properties without having any declared mode of income.
He explained that Yambao retired in 1999 and did not file an income tax return from then until 2004. During this time, he said millions were deposited to his bank account.
"He is a mysterious person here," Drilon said during the day's Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Drilon likewise questioned Ligot and his wife's sale of a 290-square kilometer unit in Essensa Forbes Condominium in Fort Bonifacio, Global City to Yambao in 2005. The property was supposedly sold at P25 million and is now valued at P35 million.
Ligot, however, first denied knowing anything about owning such a property, saying his wife was just a trustee for the principal Yambao. But Drilon asked why Yambao - as the principal - would sell his own property to himself.
The senator likewise showed a deed of sale showing Ligot as a signatory.
Ligot admitted that "it seems to be" his signature, after which he invoked his right against self-incrimination because the matter is already pending with the Sandiganbayan through a forfeiture case.
Drilon asked Ligot to bring his wife Erlinda, who had earlier skipped the hearing due to health reasons, and Yambao to the next Senate hearing. Ligot agreed.
It was earlier revealed that Mrs. Ligot purchased several expensive properties in the United States, which include a house in Anaheim (reportedly worth $504,000) and Buena Park ($183,868) in California.
Ligot was the predecessor of Carlos Garcia, who is also accused of amassing more than P300 million in state funds while he was still in service. He was comptroller from 1999 to 2001.
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