‘Accounting analysis,’ debit-credit transactions

This refers to Nancy Carvajal’s report, titled “2 Binay aides billionaires” (Front Page, 5/17/15).

Carvajal’s report on Vice President Jejomar Binay’s indictment by the Ombudsman is a classic example of “nakuryente” in journalism parlance. Carvajal never bothered to apologize to the public.

Maybe Carvajal, with her motivation to get a scoop, did not bother to double check the amounts. Had she made the effort, she would have found out that the total amount reported was merely the sum of several debit and credit transactions. She did not consider that several of those transactions involved one and the same amount. Meaning, a certain deposit could be transacted several times. Simple accounting analysis.

Carvajal is trying to connect dots between Gerardo Limlingan and Vice President Binay; between Eduviges Baloloy and the Vice President. There is no legal connection. I perceive Carvajal’s reports on Binay to be always slanted and twisted.

Sabi nga ng nanay niya, Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc’s sister, the late Inday Badiday, “careful, careful.”

—ISIDRO C. VALENCIA, Taguig City

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The story of Nancy Carvajal on “2 Binay aides billionaires” is based on the report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to the Court of Appeals.

The 131-page ALMC report has a number of tables detailing the deposits and withdrawals of Binay’s finance officer Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan and longtime secretary Eduviges Baloloy.

It also contains summary tables that show the total deposits, total investments and withdrawals of Limlingan and Baloloy.

Among these are:

• Table 69. This shows the amount of yearly deposits Limlingan and Baloloy and their joint accounts (Limlingan/Baloloy). Their total cash deposits from 2007 to 2014 is P809,742,950.60.
• Table 70. This shows the investment management funds made by Baloloy and Limlingan, either individually and jointly in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The grand total is P1,647,375,000.00
• Table 56. This sums up the withdrawals, selling of securities and pretermination of placements made by Limlingan and Baloloy since August 2014 (start of Senate hearings). The total proceeds from their selling of bank securities, pretermination of placements, OTC withdrawals and check encashments is P3.4 billion.
• The total investment management fund of P1.7 billion is for the period 2008 to 2012. If we assume all the deposits made for the same period are converted to investment management fund and just add the deposits in 2013 and 2014 (P178 million), the total investment management fund and cash deposits is P2.7 billion.

Whether one uses total deposit and investment funds (P2.7 billion) or total withdrawals, selling of securities and pretermination of placements (P3.4 billion), it can be said that the two aides own billions of cash and other assets.—Ed.