This refers to Numeriano F. Ronquillo’s letter titled “Urgent appeal to DBP for settlement of claims” (Inquirer, 1/26/13). In his letter, Ronquillo makes an appeal to the Development Bank of the Philippines management to settle the claims for the Bank Equity Benefit Differential Pay and the Amelioration Allowance of the petitioner-retirees, in the case of Numeriano Ronquillo et al. vs. DBP.
This is an urgent appeal to the chair, board members and president of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to settle the claims for the Bank Equity Benefit Differential Pay or BEBDP (also referred to as cost of living allowance or Cola) and the Amelioration Allowance (AA) of the petitioner-retirees, in the case of Numeriano Ronquillo et al. vs. DBP, in compliance with the decision of the Court of Appeals in GR SP No. 118640.
The Anti-Money Laundering Law (AMLC), amended in 2003, was enacted mainly to prevent organized crime and global terrorists from using the banking system. President Aquino however has debased it, turning it into his deadly weapon against his enemies.
This refers to the Biz Buzz column titled “Window dressing” (Inquirer, 2/2012) by Daxim Lucas. Lucas alleged that the Development Bank of the Philippines’ 2011 “accomplishments may have been due to window dressing, aimed to burnish the image of the new management.” He specifically mentioned the bank’s record-high dividends of P4 billion.
May we be allowed to clarify six issues raised in the article “COA hits SSS sale of Meralco shares.”
The Dec. 23, 2011 Inquirer issue carried a letter from a certain Abelardo Z. Enrique, titled “Lopez group’s loans: an attempt to divert heat from Ongpin.”
The Nov. 14 column of Neal H. Cruz tackled the supposed “unfairness” of the law that allows banks to write off bad debts. Cruz was particularly referring to the 2006 write-offs made by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on the equity and investment loans of Lopez Holdings.
I received another letter from Salvador Tirona, president of Lopez Holdings, commenting on our column of Nov. 7 about the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) loans to different corporations belonging to the Lopez Group of Companies. These loans, totaling more than P4 billion, were not paid and were written off by DBP, causing more than P4 billion in losses to the government-owned bank. Tirona insisted that the Lopez Group was not a “recipient of special favors from the DBP” in spite of the fact that P4 billion in debt of the Lopez Group was written off by the bank, meaning, it doesn’t have to pay that debt anymore. That’s like winning the lotto many times over, or finding Yamashita’s treasure and King Solomon’s mines at the same time. If I were given a tiny fraction of that, I would consider it a very special favor.
The Senate is currently investigating behest loans granted by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and so far the loans to former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin are at the center of the sights of the investigators. I have been watching the hearings, waiting for the disclosure of the DBP loans granted—and written off—to the Lopez family. But every time the questioning heads in that direction, a senator related to the Lopezes steers the discussion in another direction.
Lawyer Benjie Pinpin was a very quiet and private man. It may be ironic that when he left us, he created quite a stir, for many thought he had the answers to a current investigation into a real or imagined fault. However, it is clear to all, as his published final notes indicated, that he [...]
