Former top officials express support for BSP move against rogue bankers

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly 50 high-ranking government officials – including a central bank governor, a national treasurer, and three finance secretaries – have publicly expressed support for the efforts of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in shuttering banks with unsound and unsafe practices. The group, called Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), made special mention of the efforts made by current BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and deputy government Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. in “safeguarding the banking system and the depositing public and in prosecuting wrong-doers to the full extent of the law," a statement released by the group said. Efforts undertaken by the BSP against “rogue bankers…act as deterrent for others, to hold those responsible accountable for their actions, and to keep people’s faith and trust in our banking system," said the FSGO, whose members include ex-central bank governor Jose Cuisia, former national treasurer Leonor Briones, and former finance secretaries Jesus Estanislao, Ramon Del Rosario, Jr., Cesar Purisima. The group also said that “these criminal elements masquerading as bankers have abused the protection scheme afforded bank depositors by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC)." “Exploiting this sanctuary, as it were, to the hilt, they have managed to run up the exposure of PDIC to the banks involved from about P4 billion in 2006 to at least P14 billion in 2009. In the process, they have also defrauded depositors – large and small – in the same banks. That these banks, located in various parts of the country and mostly belonging to a group associated with a notorious character, failed one after the other point to one inescapable conclusion: that from the start there was intent to subvert the system and defraud the government and depositors," the group added. “In furtherance of good governance, we commend and salute the monetary board and the BSP for the forceful exercise of their regulatory powers in the recent closures of those rogue banks involved in unsound and unsafe practices," the group said. Among the signatories of the statement include former monetary board members Cayetano Paderanga Jr. and Melito Salazar, Jr.; former budget secretaries Emilia Boncodin and Benjamin Diokno; Vicente T. Paterno, former senator and industry minister; former trade secretary Juan B. Santos; former social welfare secretaries Lina Laigo and Corazon Juliano Soliman; former education secretary Edilberto de Jesus; former environment secretary Fulgencio Factoran, Jr.; former health secretary Jaime Galvez Tan; former agrarian reform secretary Philip Ella Juico; former tourism secretary Narzalina Lim; and former local government secretary Rafael Alunan III. They were joined by former finance undersecretaries Edgardo Del Fonso and Milwida Guevarra; former tourism undersecretary Sostenes Campillo, Jr.; former agrarian reform undersecretaries Gerardo Bulatao and Hector Soliman; former tourism undersecretaries Walfrido Reyes and Ramona Lopez Ty; former transport undersecretaries Romeo de Vera and Josefina Lichauco; former environment undersecretary Antonio La Viña; and former education undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz. Former PDIC presidents Ernest Leung, Vitaliano Nañagas, Norberto Nazareno, and Ricardo Mirasol Tan; former chair of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Francisco Del Rosario; former president of the Land Bank of the Philippines Deogracias Vistan; former national economic council chairman Sixto K. Roxas; former National Statistics Office administrator Tomas Africa; former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman Felicito Payumo; former DBP director Amina Rasul; former civil service commission chair Karina Constantino-David; former presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Quintos Deles; former national anti-poverty commission lead convenor Imelda Nicolas; former Manila Airport Authority general manager Guillermo Cunanan; former Commission on Filipinos Overseas executive director Jose Z. Molano Jr., and former general managers of the Philippine Tourism Authority Angelito Banayo and Nixon Kua. - GMANews.TV