'Banking' on mystery and intrigue

The mystifying death of lawyer Benjamin Pinpin has put scrutiny at the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to a higher level, as people continue to speculate on the kind of pressure that would drive a young man to kill himself. The suicide notes of Pinpin, and other documents with instructions as to whom they should be entrusted plus the cryptic note that these will “help somehow” are adding to the mystery, aggravated by the atmosphere of fear and paranoia that has gripped DBP employees. Sources disclosed that bank operations are reportedly paralyzed because rank-and-file employees and mid-level managers are wary about signing documents for fear that they would become the next recipients of a “show cause” memo – something that allegedly drove Pinpin to kill himself.

Last Sunday, DBP president Francisco “Popoy” del Rosario called me apparently in reaction to my Sunday column about controversies hogging the headlines including the one about DBP. I had called Popoy (who by the way was a schoolmate in La Salle) several times as far back as a month ago to ask him about issues concerning the bank, but he never returned my call. Apparently, his secretary never informed him of my calls – or at least that’s what he told me. (Perhaps he should start looking for a more efficient secretary.)

Popoy said he had absolutely nothing to do with the issuance of a show-cause letter to Pinpin and in fact, opposed the current DBP Board’s decision to include the lawyer in the investigation. Del Rosario further said his paramount concern is assuring employees that due process will be observed and that their rights would be protected to prevent the climate of fear from spreading. He also told me he was the one who insisted the investigation be conducted by the Ombudsman and not internally within the bank.

DBP has shown remarkable performance in the past with net income at double digits to P1.32 billion in the first four months of 2011, but sources claim that factionalism is already affecting the bank, with credit adequacy ratios reportedly going down. Bank employees intimated to Spy Bits that the group of DBP chairman Jose “Pepo” Nuñez does not see eye-to-eye with Popoy del Rosario, and the turf war is escalating with one group allegedly trying to maneuver the other into getting “kicked out.”

 Spy Bits informants received an e-mail “white paper” being circulated about Nuñez reportedly having a penchant for luxurious travel, using the helicopter of his businessman-benefactor/backer to fly around town and regularly landing at the DBP building helipad. The businessman-benefactor allegedly obtained billions in loans from DBP for his various businesses. On the other hand, sources disclosed that black propaganda is being waged against Del Rosario allegedly by the other group. Apparently, they are keen on getting rid of him because of his access to President Noynoy, making him a stumbling block to the other group’s “plans.” Popoy made it very clear to me that he had only one “boss” and it is no one else but P-Noy.

The death of Atty. Benjie Pinpin is no doubt a disquieting chapter in the mystery and intrigues currently wracking the DBP. P-Noy should order the NBI and the DOJ to leave no stone unturned in investigating Pinpin’s suicide. In any language, what happened is tantamount to a murder – because it’s clear that somebody up the ladder drove the young lawyer to his untimely death.

More ‘Wheeler dealers’

We received numerous e-mails reacting to our Aug. 4 column item titled “Wheeler dealers” about “casas” or authorized service centers recommending unnecessary repairs or parts replacements to fleece luxury car owners. Our regular reader Peng Perez de Tagle detailed his experience with an American car dealership in Quezon City where he brought his sputtering brand new van.

The service manager claimed a hard-to-repair part inside the gas tank caused the sputtering, and it would cost P70,000. However, Perez de Tagle became suspicious when the guy texted he could source the vehicle part outside – for half the cost. He double checked the van’s air cleaner and found to his horror “rolled-up newspaper stuffed inside the air cleaner.” He removed the rolled-up newspaper, after which the van operated normally without any need to replace the supposedly defective part.

Despite reporting the attempted scam and showing the compromising text messages to the proprietor, Peng was given the run-around – which convinced him they were totally in on the scheme. Peng has since moved to another authorized dealer but cautions everyone to cross-check first before agreeing to any part change.

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