BSP, PDIC file new estafa raps versus 11 Urban Bank officials

Monetary offficials filed anew before the Department of Justice estafa charges against 11 Urban Bank Inc. officials whom they said were responsible for the April 25 closure of the universal bank, having misappropriated some P1.8 billion in depositors’ money.

The new suit is on top of a similar yet separate swindling charges filed earlier by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (BSP-PDIC) in the DOJ against the same set of UBI executives which involves some P2.8 billion.

BSP counsel Manuel Lazaro, along with colleagues Juan De Zuñiga and Pablo Romero, filed the charges before the office of Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, which was later received by the docket section.

Monetary officials claimed the bank failed to "faithfully and prudently administer the funds of UBI" and that these were transferred to its investment house, Urbancorp Investment Inc., "without authority of the bank’s Board of Directors."

They stated that the bank officials misappropriated P1 billion on April 25 and P744.8 million the day before which resulted in great damage and prejudice to the rights of depositors, creditors and stockholders.

Among those charged anew were chairman Arsenio Bartolome III, president and chief executive officer Teodoro Borlongan, corporate secretary Corazon Bejasa, senior vice president Nida Santos, vice president Cecilia Magugat, senior managers Milagros Santiago, Rowena Punsalan, managers Mark Ching, Chulla Formanes, Amalia Ordas and assistant vice president Loida Payonga.

Earlier, Bartolome washed his hands off the economic sabotage suit now being handled by Senior State Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat and pointed to his subordinates as among those who could have probably committed the crime.

"I did not have physical or juridical possession of the funds of the Urban Bank Inc. I did not participate in its day-to-day management and operations and did not have any executive function and other responsibilities," he stated in his five-page rejoinder affidavit.

Bartolome said that his functions "are limited to presiding over the meetings of the board and of the stockholders of both the UBI and Urbancorp Investments Inc."

Bartolome stressed, on the other hand, that he cannot be held liable for estafa "because the funds were not received for safekeeping, on commission, for administration or under any other obligation involving the duty to make delivery or return the same."

"When money is deposited with a bank, it becomes the money of the bank, and no longer of the depositor. A bank deposit is in the nature of a loan to the bank which can make use of the deposit," he maintained.