The manager of Tanduay Distillers Inc. filed a complaint for 54 counts of estafa through falsification of commercial and private documents against eight employees of the company and two others before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office Friday.

The complaint was filed by Roberto Salvador against warehouse supervisors Johnny Kho, Jun Micabel, and Rolando Uy; warehouse custodians Teofilo Agravante, Ramer Puyogao and Jose Joel Macaya; former warehouse custodian Jerry Java, production bottles custodian Rommel Niepes, Alfonso Verdeflor, a subcontractor of Park Enterprises and a former employee, and a certain J. Golez, as driver of fraudulent deliveries.

In his complaint affidavit, Salvador said he has discovered 54 cases of fraudulent deliveries of second hand Tanduay bottles which resulted to business losses amounting to P2,816,755.20.

He said that after personally conducting an investigation, he found the 10 persons mentioned to have conspired and confederated to commit the crime of estafa through falsification of commercial and private documents.

Salvador said that on Dec. 6, 2007 he met warehouse trainee James Lota and inquired from him about his training with the company.

He said Lota informed him that he was already allowed by Teofilo Agravante to sign the delivery receipt in the morning without actually witnessing the delivery but that in the afternoon Agravante would point to him the alleged delivery in the stockyard.

The information alarmed him about the lapses in the procedure and that the checking of the deliveries were not closely and actually monitored, he added.

Salvador said that in the course of his investigation, he discovered that the delivery receipts were falsified and this led him to investigate thoroughly all documents pertaining to deliveries of second hand empty bottles issued by Park Enterprises.

He said TDI has been buying empty second hand Tanduay bottles from Park Enterprises through Negros General Services Corp. since 2003.

Salvador said he found out that the accused falsified their commercial receipts to make it appear that there was delivery of second hand empty bottles in order to claim payment. The acts complained of were committed from January to Dec. 5, 2007 , he said.

Most of the fraudulent deliveries were not covered by “materials retuned to supplier forms” and gate pass, Salvador said.

To support the falsified delivery receipts, the accused had likewise falsified the monitoring sheet of the guards on duty in order to reflect the alleged entry of the delivery truck of accused J. Golez, Salvador said.

The falsified monitoring sheet does not contain the true handwriting of any of the guards on duty as stated in the report of handwriting expert Police Major Noel Manaay, but instead, contained the handwriting of the accused Macaya, Niepes, Uy, and Puyogao, he said.

Salvador said the 54 cases of fraudulent deliveries were paid causing TDI to suffer actual damages amounting to P2.8 million.

He said that even before the anomalies were discovered, he had observed that the lifestyles of the accused had somehow improved.

In order to confirm his findings, he engaged the services of Manaay in order to protect the interest of TDI, Salvador said.*CGS

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