Ongpin firm to file disbarment case vs DBP exec

MANILA, Philippines - A company owned by businessman Roberto Ongpin is mulling the filing of a disbarment case against the acting corporate secretary of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for allegedly coming out with a paid advertisement based on a spurious board resolution to cover up the unauthorized representation of private lawyer Zenaida Ongkiko-Acorda as the bank’s “spokesperson” in Ongpin’s reported “behest loans” case.

Aside from the possible disbarment case against acting DBP corporate secretary Castoglio Martinez, Daltaventure Resources Inc. (DVRI) also filed last Sept. 30, a perjury complaint against Martinez before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.

Lawyer Rodolfo Ma. Ponferrada, an officer of DVRI filed the criminal complaint of perjury in Ongpin’s behalf.

In the complaint, Ponferrada said the paid advertisements published in two leading national newspapers on Sept. 24 contained an alleged excerpt from a DBP board resolution that was supposedly adopted during its regular meeting on Aug. 3, 2011.

The paid advertisements quoted item “c” of the supposed board resolution signed by Martinez, which designated Acorda as the “official spokesperson of DBP” on the case involving the accounts of Deltaventure and Philex Mining Corp.

The complaint, however, pointed out that item “c” did not appear in the original copy of the Aug. 3 board resolution that the DBP attached to its complaint filed against Ongpin and 27 other individuals with the Office of the Ombudman, making the published excerpt clearly spurious.

“In the complaint filed by the DBP before the Office of the Ombudsman, its chairman Jose Nuñez and president and CEO Francisco del Rosario alleged under oath that a copy, not just an excerpt, of ‘Board Resolution dated Aug. 3, 2011 evidencing their authority’ is attached and made an integral part of the complaint as Annex A,” Ponferrada said.

 “If one examines Annex A, it only has two items – “a” and “b” – and the item “c” subject of the DBP’s paid ad was not included,” he added.

Ponferrada said Martinez made it appear that Acorda is the DBP’s spokesperson and legal counsel on the DVRI case when in fact there was no authorization from the DBP board giving her the power to act as such.

Ponferrada said Acorda have repeatedly stressed she is the DBP’s spokesperson and legal counsel in several press conferences. Likewise, he said that the latter also brandished a copy of a Secretary’s Certificate, purportedly issued by Martinez showing the authorization by the bank’s board of directors to her designation.

 “Said Secretary’s Certificate appears to be a manufactured post facto Secretary’s Certificate designed to obviate questions on the authority of Atty. Acorda to represent herself as counsel and spokesperson of DBP. It appears to be a perjured document as it makes it appear that the DBP board of directors designated Atty. Acorda as DBP’s official spokesperson as early as Aug. 3, 2011. However, the facts indicate that this could not have been the case. The contents of said Secretary’s Certificate, which Respondent executed under oath, are false and contrived,” the complaint said.

Martinez, according to the complaint, “deliberately certified the issuance of that false board resolution by DBP on Aug. 3.

But Ponferrada said a paid advertisement dated Aug. 18 and signed by DBP senior officers Edgardo Garcia, Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio, Jesus Guevara and Belinda Tejada noted that Ongkiko-Acorda was not authorized to represent DBP-either as spokesperson or counsel.

At the same time, he explained that purported Secretary’s Certificate was executed only on Sept. 22 and published two days after Ongkiko-Acorda’s designations were questioned.

“Had Atty. Acorda been designated as DBP’s spokeperson as early as Aug. 3, 2011, why was the evidence of her authority made available only on Sept. 24,” the complaint added.