POLITICS-BIZ: MANILA – Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada bares story on Filipino-American philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis’ failed bid to buy Philippine National Bank (PNB)
Filipino-American philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis
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Aside from being identified with the “yellow army,” former Senator Jinggoy Estrada also branded Filipino-American philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis as “anti-Erap” after she allegedly failed to buy the Philippine National Bank (PNB) during the time of his father, then President Joseph Estrada.
Lewis is the national chairperson of the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USPGG) that reportedly denied inviting Estrada to speak before its members in Michigan on May 20.
“Had I known that it was Loida who is the chairperson of that organization, I would not have accepted that invitation,” the former senator said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.
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“In fact, according to the president of the local chapter in Michigan, it’s only now that Mrs. Lewis interfered in the affairs of the local chapter,” he said.
Asked why he would not have accepted the invite, Estrada said because Lewis was “anti-Erap” and “anti-Duterte.”
“When my father was President, laging kasama ng nanay ko yan e, when my mother was First Lady. And little did I know that she needed something from the government, from the administration of my father. She wanted to purchase the Philippine National Bank,” said he former senator.
“So when my father entertained the idea, my father instructed the Department of Finance to maybe evaluate if she’s capable of purchasing the Philippine National Bank but apparently when they evaluated the finances of Mrs. Lewis, it turned out that she’s not qualified to purchase the Philippine National Bank at that time.”
“So that started the anti-Erap crusade against my father…Hindi nabigyan. E bakit pagbibigyan hindi naman pala kaya, kawawa naman ang administrasyon ng tatay ko…,” Estrada added.
Last month, the Sandiganbayan granted Estrada’s request for a month-long trip to the US with his family, citing the USPGG’s invite for him to speak before its members on May 20.
READ: Sandigan Oks Jinggoy’s motion to travel
But Lewis, in a statement, said the group did not invite the former senator.
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READ: No invitation for Jinggoy
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Estrada insisted that he would push through with his trip after the chair of the USPGG Michigan chapter, William Dechavez, assured him that he would “standby” the invitation on his personal capacity.
So when asked if he would push through with the trip, Estrada said: “Yeah. Kung magulo pa sila baka mag isip na akong hindi pumunta sa Michigan, gastos pa…”
INQUIRER.net is contacting Lewis to get her side on Estrada’s claims./ac
