High court affirms behest loan ruling

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has affirmed the Ombudsman, which cleared officers of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Midland Cement Corp. for alleged behest loans obtained in 1971-1982. In a 23-page decision penned by Associate Justice Dante O. Tinga, the court said it could not simply disrupt the findings of the graft buster that the loans, starting from P110 million used to construct a new facility, should not be classified as behest loans. Midland Cement obtained on Jan. 18, 1968 a foreign loan guaranteed by DBP worth $18.5 million for the construction of a new facility. Thereafter, both firms entered into 10 other loan pacts for the restructuring of the cement company’s assets. As a result, DBP became the owner of 92.89% of Midland Cement. - BusinessWorld