Former Justice Secretary Hernando ‘Nani’ Perez on Wednesday sought the dismissal of his graft case before the Sandiganbayan Third division, citing insufficiency of evidence in connection with his alleged failure to disclose a US$1.7million foreign bank deposits in his 2001 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Perez, through his counsel Marcial Balgos, denied the ownership of the US$1.7million deposited in European Financial Group (EFG) Private bank in Switzerland and insisted that the bank had been closed as early as October 31, 2001, two months before the filing of the SALN.
Balgos claimed that the million dollar deposits never became Perez’s legal possession as it was escrowed by business associate Ernest Escaler to his wife Rosario Perez and his brother-in-law Ramon Arceo as a “consequence of a purely civil transaction.”
Perez also claimed that the witnesses presented by the prosecution which included Victoria Delfin, Ombudsman General Investigation Bureau Director Olivia Roxas, former Department of Justice Acting Chief Hedeliza Encabo, Ombudsman Consultant Arthur Carandang, and Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Jaime Ledda, admitted that they did not have personal knowledge of the facts testified on by them and thus be considered hearsay.
Perez asserted that he is entitled to a dismissal of the case due to the prosecution’s failure to prove the alleged complaint and the insufficiency of the evidence they presented against him as well as no such amount to disclose in his SALN.
The case stemmed from Perez’s alleged extortion of US$2 million from former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez in exchange for excluding him as co-defendant in former President now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada’s plunder case.

Source: Manila Bulletin - June 8, 2013