{"id":67063,"date":"2011-09-29T01:27:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T17:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=67063"},"modified":"2011-09-30T02:34:30","modified_gmt":"2011-09-29T18:34:30","slug":"%e2%80%98surprised%e2%80%99-dbp-chairman-sued-for-graft-by-bank-coo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/67063\/%e2%80%98surprised%e2%80%99-dbp-chairman-sued-for-graft-by-bank-coo","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Surprised\u2019 DBP chair sued for graft by bank COO"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

DBP chairman Jose A. Nu\u00f1ez. Photo by dbp.ph<\/p><\/div>\n

Comes now a surprise twist in the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) story of the controversial loan of businessman Roberto Ongpin.<\/p>\n

A senior officer of DBP on Wednesday filed graft and criminal charges against the bank\u2019s chairman, accusing him of coercing witnesses to testify against Ongpin for an allegedly behest loan.<\/p>\n

The complaints were filed in the Office of the Ombudsman against DBP chairman Jose A. Nu\u00f1ez by Edgardo Garcia, the bank\u2019s senior executive vice president and chief operating officer.<\/p>\n

In a 21-page complaint, Garcia said Nu\u00f1ez\u2014a political ally of President Benigno Aquino III\u2019s supporter, Salvador \u201cBuddy\u201d Zamora\u2014violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for his acts of \u201cgrave coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia, a career DBP officer, has been with the state bank since 1996.<\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez was accused of employing \u201cunlawful coercions, threats, intimidation and pressures\u201d against witnesses during the investigation of the alleged behest loan, which was said to have led to the suicide of DBP lawyer Benjamin Pinpin last month.<\/p>\n

Manufactured evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garcia accused Nu\u00f1ez of being motivated by his \u201cobsession to manufacture evidence against Ongpin and former DBP president Reynaldo G. David, which several officials and employees of the bank could not stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia said Nu\u00f1ez forced him to execute a \u201cspurious and false\u201d sworn statement meant to pin down David.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmid all the threats and intimidations, with the truth on our side, I refused to commit falsehood as dictated\/coerced by respondent,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

He added that, had he agreed to sign such an affidavit, he may have spared 19 other bank officials and employees from what he said was Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s \u201charassment,\u201d but decided against it.<\/p>\n

Bid to muddle issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garcia asked the Ombudsman to suspend Nu\u00f1ez pending the resolution of the complaint against him \u201cto prevent him from influencing witnesses and tampering with evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a press statement, Nu\u00f1ez said he was \u201ctaken by surprise\u201d by what he termed as a \u201cclear attempt to muddle the issue which only involves the question of whether past DBP officials have failed to safeguard P660 million worth of public funds loaned to Ongpin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was never any case of\u00a0 \u2018unlawful coercion, threats, intimidation and pressures\u2019 as claimed by Garcia,\u201d the DBP chairman added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe facts and documents in the case of graft filed in relation to the alleged P660-million behest loans to Ongpin\u2019s Delta Ventures Resources Inc. will show that David and Garcia connived to pass the behest nature of the loan to the Ongpin companies,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s primary mandate is to extend developmental financing, but Ongpin\u2019s defenders say the DBP also has a universal banking license to grant commercial loans.<\/p>\n

Garcia said he decided to finally file the case to prevent another death among the bank employees who may not have the stamina to fight the \u201cobsession or penchant\u201d of Nu\u00f1ez and some board directors to persecute the old DBP board and Ongpin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn retrospect, had I succumbed to respondent\u2019s tormenting\/abusive passion and compulsion for me to execute a spurious and false sworn statement stating that president R.G. David \u2018muscled\u2019 management to recommend and the Board to approve Ongpin\u2019s transactions, I could have spared some 19 persons from the sufferings, harassment and intimidation spawned by the psychotic show cause letters, and Atty. Benjamin E. Pinpin, a young and promising lawyer, would still be alive to pursue his dreams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Obsession<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garcia also said that the transactions with Ongpin were fully secured with collateral, and that the DBP even earned P9.3 million in interest income and profited P1.3 billion from the sale of the Philex shares.<\/p>\n

But he said that when the new DBP board came in August 2010, Nu\u00f1ez showed interest in Ongpin and his companies\u2019 transactions, and had the loans audited.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is evident that the underlying motive of the investigation launched by the Respondent was his obsession to find evidence of anomaly,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

When none was found, he said Nu\u00f1ez had suspected 20 officers and employees of having participated in Ongpin\u2019s transactions and had insisted that they were influenced into approving it by David.<\/p>\n

No witch-hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz on Wednesday twitted Ongpin\u2019s lawyer, Alex Poblador, for claiming that Malaca\u00f1ang\u2019s decision to disclose the details of Ongpin\u2019s loan was part of a \u201cwitch-hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cadiz said the \u201cdeclassification\u201d of documents about Ongpin\u2019s loan was just consistent with President Aquino\u2019s anticorruption\u00a0 drive. He said the presidential directive could be the \u201cfinal nail on the coffin\u201d in connection with the graft case.<\/p>\n

He said if Poblador was really confident that Ongpin\u2019s previous transactions with the DBP were all legal, \u201cwhy are they afraid of the declassification of the DBP documents?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he (Ongpin) has done nothing wrong, he should welcome the (President\u2019s decision). Why be afraid if it will exonerate him?\u201d Cadiz said. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria and Marlon Ramos<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comes now a surprise twist in the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) story of the controversial loan of businessman Roberto Ongpin. A senior officer of DBP on Wednesday filed graft and criminal charges against the bank\u2019s chairman, accusing him of coercing witnesses to testify against Ongpin for an allegedly behest loan. The complaints were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":67101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,36,37],"tags":[],"byline":[316],"source":[206078],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Surprised\u2019 DBP chair sued for graft by bank COO | Inquirer 黑料社<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comes now a surprise twist in the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) story of the controversial loan of businessman Roberto Ongpin. 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