Press Release
January 31, 2012

TRANSCRIPT OF SEN. SERGE OSMEÑA'S Q & A WITH PROSECUTION WITNESS NOLI HERNANDEZ, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MEGAWORLD

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Hindi ba ang Penthouse merong 2 to 3 floors, hindi ba?

Witness: Opo.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Ibig sabihin, 2 per floor?

Witness: Yes po.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Siguro iba-iba ang presyo per floor. The one of the first floor of the Penthouse would be priced at less than the top Penthouse?

Witness: Yes.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Do you have a price list? Would you like to submit to the court the price list, the asking prices for those Penthouses?

Witness: Our prices are basically wide, it's below....

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Just submit it, don't argue, okay?

Witness: Yes, your honor.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: May I ask the court to please subpoena the original price list for the Bellagio condominium building. (To the witness) Can we have that by tomorrow, Mr. Witness?

Witness: Yes, your honor.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: 'Yun pong damage, anong klaseng damage 'yung na-sustain nung Penthouse ni Chief Justice Corona?

Witness: Tulad po ng nabanggit ko kanina, nagkaroon po ng leakage...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Ibig mong sabihin water damage lang?

Witness: Water damage po...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Water damage, in my experience, is one of the least...well, as long as the floor has no construction damage, no cracks, kung water damage lang safe lang 'yan.

Witness: Hindi lang ho 'yun. Medyo naging expensive din po 'yung naging damage. Besides...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Did you check all the leaks when the unit was damaged?

Witness: No, sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: You did not file any insurance claims on it?

Witness: No sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: You did not?

Witness: Ang pagkaka-alam ko po sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Will you please check. Because it is very normal that if you get any sort of damage, there is a claim that is made and photographs are taken. You're under-oath, Mr. Witness, do you know that? Do you know for a fact that no claims were filed?

Witness: I don't know that for a fact...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: You said there was none. So you were not telling the truth...

Witness: I don't know that for a fact, sir. What I said was that normally, there should be a...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: I am asking you specifically, in this case, if any claims were filed.

Witness: I am not aware, your honor.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Alright. Will you find out and let the court know tomorrow.

Witness: I will.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Okay. Ano itong normal construction cost ng multi-storey building?

Witness: I am actually not the finance manager.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Normally, the construction cost is 70 to 80% of the total selling price, and 20% is the normal profit made by a developer. Are you aware of that?

Witness: I am not so sure, your honor.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: All I am saying is that, if the listed price is P24 million, then it is sold for P14 million, the developer sold this at a huge loss. Are you aware of that?

Witness: I would not call it a huge loss, sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Okay. But you are aware of the numbers...what is the big loss and what is the small loss?

Witness: Well, you can figure it yourself sir, it's about 40%.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: What figures? You haven't told us any figures. Are we talking about the difference between P24 million and P14 million?

Witness: Yes, sir, that's one way to look at it, sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: That's one way to look at it...

Witness: (inaudible in audio) ... we ended up in a reduced price of P14.5 million, that's a big reduction, sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: (...) Yes. And we're trying to probe if that reason is valid. Now, that's why we are asking for photos because in my experience, water damage is one of the least that can happen to your property as far as damage is concerned. Aside from paint...

Witness: Your honow, I forgot to add. As I was saying earlier that on top of this, we were just about to finish it, we were just about to complete it. Then this typhoon came and a part of this was damaged.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: First you were saying that the unit was semi-bare. Can you please describe what semi-bare is?

Witness: It's not 100% finished.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Yeah we know that. But what is missing? Electricals in place? The water pipes were in place?

Witness: Yes sir.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Did you not finish it before you turned it over to the new owner?

Witness: No, we did not sir. We did not have the chance to do that. As I mentioned earlier....

Senator-Judge Osmeña: You mean to say that the new owner moved in and did all the finishing himself?

Witness: Yes, we just turned it over to the new owner, sir. And...

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Can you tell us the date when the turn-over was made, please....Show the court the date when the turn over was made....

Witness: I don't have it with me.

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Will you please submit it to the court, please....

Senator-Judge Osmeña: Well, essentially, a developer would never turn-over a unit that is not finished and that is not up to spec, because the contract would reflect repreresentations and warranties, particularly in a condominium building. So, we doubt very much if you are being very accurate this afternoon....

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