Gov't cracks down on text rumor mongering

President Estrada has ordered a crackdown on "text rumor-mongering."

Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said yesterday the Chief Executive instructed Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Rafael Buenaventura and Finance Secretary Jose Pardo to stop the destabilization of the country's banking system through text-messaging in cell phones.

"The President did give instructions to Gov. Buenaventura and Finance Secretary Pardo to try to make it very clear to the people these are isolated cases," he said.

Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora warned that spreading false stories about the banking system's perceived instability was a form of economic sabotage, which is punishable by law.

Zamora and Puno cautioned the public against believing rumors that certain banks were suffering from liquidity problems as in the case of Urban Bank.

Puno said Urban Bank merely encountered a case of "unusual cash withdrawals" and that the bank received help from the BSP, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Securities Exchange Commission.

"But the situation in Urban Bank which I said should not be written off does not mean that the banking system itself is in jeopardy," he said. "It is far from that."

Zamora said Buenaventura and Pardo have assured the President that their agencies can readily infuse funds in any bank that suffers a cash flow problem as a result of a bank run.

Puno specifically mentioned the cases of I-Bank and PBCom whose managements had to issue statements to assure their depositors that the two banks were solvent.

"The Central Bank also wanted to make it clear that they are in a very, very good position to assist these banks in liquidity problems," he said.--