Why Sunchamp deal documentation is sloppy

The hearings before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee on the corruption charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay reveal to us how supposedly bright lawyers could look so dumb in an effort to insulate their clients from being charged with the scams they themselves concocted to circumvent the law.

Take the case of Sunchamp Realty Development Corp. which is said to be fronting for Binay in his acquisition of the Batangas farm/resort, a luxurious estate fit for the rich and famous. The scheme was meant to shield him from potentially explosive charges of ill-gotten wealth.

No due diligence was done regarding the status of the property and the documentation, if any, was shamefully sloppy. Obviously, the thinking was the less paper trail, the better to derail any investigation. No lawyer worth his salt would deliberately put a client like Sunchamp in such a disadvantage if that deal was bona fide.

The lack of care, as far as legal formalities were concerned, could only point to the fact that the parties (including their lawyers) knew it was a bogus transaction and that Sunchamp was never meant to assert any lawful right to the property in any court of law. Chances are, hidden documents bear Binay’s name. That is the only sensible reason—for those who were not born yesterday!

—GEORGE DEL MAR,

[email protected]