Agusan Sur-based mining firm exec says rivals fate now uncertain
ROSARIO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 23 June) — The president of a gold mining company based here said the fate of his detractor who had attempted in the last four months to replace him now hangs in the balance after the latter’s Australian backer, who is managing director of their partner company in his country, has already resigned from his post.
Lawyer Raul Villanueva , president of Philsaga Mining Corp. (PMC) said his rival Joseph Mahusay, barangay chair of Pansol in Quezon City would be in dire straits being a protégé of Jeff McGlinn, the managing director of Ten Sixty Four Ltd. (X64) who resigned from his post along with three other non-executive directors before the extraordinary general meeting(EGM) on June 19.
Mahusay claimed McGlinn appointed him as the new PMC president.
EGM is a shareholders meeting that is separate from a company’s scheduled annual general meeting. An EGM is also called a special general meeting or emergency general meeting.
McGlinn and three other non-executive directors, Kate George, Simon Mottram, and Andrew Hunt flagged their exit before the EGM, sensing their unsuccessful campaign for their retention as the result showed some 114 million voted for their rejection while only about 32 million voted for their retention, Villanueva, echoing what his Australian partners told him during their online meeting, said.
The exits are the result of the efforts by X64 former managing director Ryan Welker and his company Vitrinite, as well as US-based private equity fund Arbiter Partners Capital Management, to oust McGlinn. The companies own about 20 percent of X64 between them, Villanueva said.
Welker was replaced by McGlinn as X64 managing director, he said.
Outgoing board members are to be replaced by Andrew Brown, Debra Bakker, William DeCooman Jr., Jonathan Shellabear and Walter Milbourne Jr., he added.
“This group has gone above and beyond to put the company in a stronger position for shareholders and I want to thank the entire team for their outstanding efforts,” McGlinn said in his resignation announcement posted on the Australian Securities Exchange portal.
“We deeply appreciate the support of those shareholders who recognized what we were trying to achieve on their behalf.”
Villanueva welcomed the development even as he vowed to pursue more civil and criminal complaints against Mahusay and McGlinn for violations of the Anti-Dummy Law, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Anti-Money Laundering Law, Ethical Standards and Practices.
He said he has enough documents to prove these violations.
Lawyer Glenn Sorilla, PMC board secretary, said complaints of alarm and scandal, perjury, and falsification of documents were already lodged against Mahusay.
The cases stemmed from the forcible entry by Mahusay and his supporters into the company’s administration building in Barangay Bayugan 3 of this town on May 29 on board a convoy of cars, supposedly to serve a legal document recognizing him as company president.
The document turned out to be just an order from a Davao City court for the transfer to another court of Mahusay’s pending case against Villanueva regarding his claims that he is the new president.
Mahusay is also facing cases of perjury and falsification of documents for allegedly forging Villanueva’s signature to the deed of assignment transferring to him the complainant’s shares of stocks and submitting to the court a document supposedly notarized by a Quezon City lawyer who denied having signed it.
“I’d never sold my shares to anyone much more to Mahusay,” Villanueva said referring to 125,000 shares of stocks that cover 60 percent of the total shares with 50 percent assigned to him and the remaining 10 percent being equally shared by Sorilla and Armando B. Dy.
“The company will continue to prosecute the cases we have already filed as well as defend those filed against us. I am confident we shall be victorious,” Villanueva said in an open letter read to PMC employees during a press conference with local media on Wednesday afternoon.
In his open letter, Villanueva claimed McGlinn was responsible for the non-payment of the processing of one gold ore shipment to Hong Kong on February 8 costing US $4.47 million, the siphoning from Mindanao Mineral Processing and Refinery Corp. (MMPRC) some US$3.6 million as well as authorizing payments on doubtful invoices amounting to P17.38 million.
He asked the new X64 board of directors to conduct an audit of their former management and for the possible recovery of the said huge amounts of money.
In a follow-up interview, Villanueva said he was furnished some of the financial and bank documents of X64 and MMPRC, of which X64 owns 80 percent of the shares.
He said he was shocked upon knowing that Mahusay received around P50 million from X64 under the previous management and board of directors, to pay his Philippine lawyers, as well as the huge amounts of money paid directly by X64 to Philippine lawyers for their court representation and handling of the alleged transfer of shares and legal bonds.
He said he will consult with his lawyers to determine if Mahusay’s legal counsels can be held liable as co-conspirators or accomplices.
He added the last outflow of money was done in bad faith because the remittance was made a few hours before the resignation of the previous management and board of directors of X64 took effect at 5p.m. on June 19. (Chris V. Panganiban/MindaNews)
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