Friday, April 01, 2011

Banco Filipino to sue Tetangco, Monetary Board members

MANILA, Philippines - Officers and shareholders of Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank will sue the central bank governor and majority of the Monetary Board for the "illegal" closure of the thrift bank two weeks ago.

In a statement released Friday, they said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco and other monetary officials violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act after ordering the closure of Banco Filipino and "knowingly causing damage" to them.

Among the MB members to be charged are Ignacio Bunyi, Peter Favila and Juanita Amatong, who were former press, trade and finance secretaries, respectively, during the time of Gloria Arroyo.

The complaint will be filed at 2 p.m. before the Department of Justice, where "they stand a better chance of being accorded justice," the statement said.

Earlier, Banco Filipino filed 2 criminal cases before the Ombudsman against Tetangco and the MB members for extortion and violations of the General Banking Act.

The BSP ordered the shutdown of Banco Filipino on March 17 and placed the bank under the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (PDIC) receivership following reports its branches could no longer service withdrawals.

The central bank said the thrift bank mismanaged depositors' money through excessive spending and by allowing loans to stockholders and affiliates to remain unpaid.

Banco Filipino has filed a motion, asking the Court of Appeals to issue a temporary restraining order on its closure. The CA then asked monetary officials to explain their March 17 move.

The PDIC, meanwhile, has begun paying Banco Filipino depositors with accounts of P5,000 or less.

No comments: