2 bankers charged with estafa

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) has found Luis Co and Alvin Milton Co guilty of estafa and ordered their imprisonment up to 14 years, plus damages amounting to over P3 million.

The father-and-son bankers ran Jade Progressive Savings and Mortgage Bank, which was closed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and placed under receivership with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) in 2000. It is currently in a state of liquidation.

The estafa charges were filed by the PDIC under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code for defrauding the bank in the aggregate amount of P3,032,909 by making it appear that said amount was paid to Acme Investigation Services Inc. for surveillance and security services.

The court found “beyond reasonable doubt” that the Cos “caused the disbursement of P3.032 million in bank funds to a security agency found to be non-existent and that the funds were traced to have been deposited to a fictitious bank account opened by the accused for their own personal use and benefit.”

Officers from the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency (PADPAO) and the Security Agencies and Guards Supervision Division (SAGSD) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) testified that Acme Investigation Services Inc. is neither a member of PADPAO nor registered with the SAGSD.

PADPAO is the umbrella organization of all security agencies in the Philippines. It was likewise revealed that so-called Acme Investigation Services Inc. was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The father-and-son bankers, president and assistant vice president of the shuttered bank, respectively, were convicted and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for a minimum of four years up to a maximum of 14 years and eight months.

In addition, they were also ordered to pay the closed bank, its depositors, creditors and the BSP, the total amount of P3,032,909, the same amount subject of the estafa case.

In a statement, PDIC general counsel Romeo M. Mendoza Jr.  said that the court decision supports the deposit insurer’s overall mandate of helping maintain the stability of the banking system.

“The purpose of this is to bring to justice the guilty parties and deter the others from erring, thereby protecting the country’s banking system,” Mendoza added.