New DBP chair under fire

After only a few weeks as the chairman of the board of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Antonino L. Alindogan was unceremoniously replaced by former labor secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.

Before Sto. Tomas was sworn into office, various sectors wrote Malacanang expressing their dismay at the turn of events.

Last week, the former labor secretary was sworn into office in disregard of the various interest groups including the bank’s employees union, the biggest national microfinance organization, and the Asia’s premier advanced management center.

On the same day, a national federation of government employees accused the new DBP chairperson of malversation of public funds.

In an open letter signed by some of the eminent business leaders of the country, the undersigned, which include former finance secretary Rizalino S. Navarro, former DBP chairman Jesus P. Estanislao, Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr., Teodoro Q. Pena, Jesus M. Zulueta Jr., Jose Luis S. Javier, Mariano M. Martin, and Jesus P. Tambunting, said that Alindogan was the ideal man for the post.

"Alindogan is a knowled-geable and proven practitioner in the finance and banking area for more than 45 years (including member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP)," they said. "He has an intimate understanding of, and commitment to the high standards of corporate and public governance that must always guide the operations of the DBP."

They added that the "magnitude of the challenge, and the limited resources available to deal with it, require expert management and oversight to ensure efficiency and optimum utilization of resources."

The Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. (MCPI), representing all microfinance practitioners of the country, said that Alindogan represented initiatives towards enhancing government’s presence in the micro, small and medium industries or MSME, which is part of the Arroyo’s administration Six-year Medium Term Development Program.

"Alindogan is the right person to lead DBP at this time given the 10-point agenda which seeks to create 10 million jobs between 2005 and 2010. MCPI urges Her Excellency to retain Alindogan as chair," it said.

The Development Bank of the Philippines Employees Union (DBPEU) revealed that Alindogan has been a DBP consultant for microfinance since October 2005 of which "he has established an integrated approach to a more effective and sustainable microfinance operations in the bank."