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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOJ starts evaluation of SEC's criminal raps vs Villar Land Holdings, its owners and officers

DOJ starts evaluation of SEC's criminal raps vs Villar Land Holdings, its owners and officers

Published Feb 2, 2026 11:56 am
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has started evaluating the criminal complaints filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Villar Land Holdings Corp. and its owners and corporate officers.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon on Monday, Feb. 2, said the complaints have to undergo evaluation to determine if preliminary investigation will be conducted.
Preliminary investigation will determine if the complaints will be dismissed or filed before the courts.
Fadullon said: “When cases are filed here at the Department of Justice (DOJ), they are not immediately subjected to preliminary investigation. We still have to go through study and scrutiny by the panel of prosecutors whether it is appropriate for preliminary investigation.”
In its complaints filed with the DOJ last Jan. 30, the SEC accused Villar Land Holdings of violating the Securities Regulation Code by issuing misleading disclosures that allegedly distorted share prices and deceived the investing public.
The complaints name Manuel B. Villar Jr., the company’s chairman and the Philippines’ richest man, as a respondent together with former senator Cynthia A. Villar and their children: Manuel Paolo, Camille, and Mark.
The firm’s independent directors and other officers were also included in the complaints that centered on alleged massive discrepancy in Villar Land Holdings’ 2024 financial reporting.
The SEC told the DOJ that Villar Land Holdings initially disclosed total assets of P1.33 trillion and a net income of P999.72 billion -- a staggering jump from the P1.46 billion earned a year earlier.
The firm attributed the growth to revaluation of its real estate holdings.
However, the SEC alleged these figures were released before an external audit was finalized.
When the audited statements were eventually submitted, the SEC said that total assets plummeted to P35.7 billion, a fraction of the initial claim.
It also claimed that related entities, including Infra Holdings Corp. and MGS Construction, engaged in trading activities designed to create artificial demand for shares of Villar Land Holdings.
At the same time, the SEC accused Sen. Camille A. Villar of insider trading for purchasing 73,600 shares in December 2017, allegedly ahead of a price-sensitive disclosure.
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