DBP gained from Ongpin loans, lost in Lopez write-offs

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.”

I am the counsel for Roberto Ongpin and I would like to react to Enrique’s patently false allegations:

1. There is no “heat” whatsoever on Ongpin and therefore, there is nothing to divert.  Ongpin’s loans from the Development Bank of the Philippines, as has been shown time and time again, were completely regular, fully secured and fully paid.  There is no doubt and no denying that DBP made substantial amounts of money as a result of making these loans.

2. There is also no denying that DBP had to write off substantial amounts of loans made to the Lopez group. The information from DBP is that the total write offs were P1.7 billion.  We believe Neal Cruz had every right to raise the issue of why certain members of the Senate are pushing only for the investigation of Ongpin’s loans (where DBP made a lot of money), and not the Lopez Group loans (where DBP lost a lot of money).

3. We repeat our previous assertion that neither Ongpin nor his lawyers, nor any of his associates, had anything to do with the publication of the column of Neal Cruz.

—RODOLFO MA. A. PONFERRADA,

counsel for Roberto Ongpin