DOJ indicts Washington Sycip’s son, Alliance execs

MANILA, Philippines— The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to file charges against the son of the late Washington Sycip and other officers of tuna canning firm Alliance Select Foods International Incorporated (Alliance) for allegedly violating the Corporation Code of the Philippines.

Besides George Sycip, who is vice chairman of Alliance, the others who were indicted are Alvin Dee, Jonathan Dee, and Ibarra Malonzo, who were listed in the complaint as  Alliance board members;  and Alliance Assistant Corporate Secretary Annsley Bangkas.

The DOJ acted on the petition for review filed by Alliance’s foreign shareholders; Harvest All Investment Limited, Victory Fund Limited, and Bondeast Private Limited. 

They alleged that members of Alliance’s board denied them their right to inspect its corporate books and records, in violation of Sections 74 and 75 of the Corporation Code of the Philippines.

Under Section 74, “the records of all business transactions of the corporation and the minutes of any meetings shall be open to inspection by any director, trustee, stockholder or member of the corporation.” Refusal to open records is punishable under the Code.

If found guilty, the respondents face a fine of P1,000 to P10,000, or 30 days to 5 years imprisonment.

“Respondents denied the said right to inspect by employing a scheme to repeatedly refer the issue between the Board and certain lawyers. Respondents, consisting of members of the Board and Assistant Corporate Secretary voted in favor of such actions and/or implemented the same. The scheme notably amounted to a delay of at least 72 days and yet even with opinions from lawyers, there is no resolution to allow the inspection,” read the DOJ resolution signed by Undersecretary Deo Marco.

“This tactic, as shown by clear evidence, of continuously delaying any decision on the matter indicates an evasive scheme adopted by respondents to defeat the rights of complainants to inspect the corporate books and records of Alliance,” it added.

The case was initially filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Pasig but was elevated to the Office of the Justice Secretary for review.

Alliance’s foreign shareholders noted that they took legal options after their request to inspect corporate books and records was twice denied. The respondents told them that their request was “deferred” pending instruction from the Board.

These requests, they added, were spurred by the “substantial financial downturn” suffered by Alliance which negatively impacted its stock price.

The publicly-listed Alliance is currently in a management battle, after Strong Oak Incorporated acquired 430.286 million of Alliance International shares valued at P563.674 million in 2014. The sale led to the dilution of the stake of the foreign investors in the company.

Last year, a group of Singaporean shareholders filed charges of syndicated estafa and falsification of documents against Alliance’s former and current directors, but a Manila prosecutor dismissed the charges. – Rappler.com