Presidential publicist Dante Ang insisted yesterday that his business deal involving the acquisition of 60 percent of Bankwise Inc., formerly Bank Dharmala, was "aboveboard" and followed all legal and normal procedures for such transactions.
Ang told The STAR in a telephone interview that he did not violate any laws or requirements of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in the acquisition of the thrift bank.
"It was all fully disclosed to the BSP and very clearly reported to them as early as April this year," he said.
Ang, once President Arroyo’s personal publicist, is now a presidential consultant on public relations after he repeatedly turned down offers of appointment to any government post because of his many family-owned business interests.
"I have not hidden anything because it’s merely a business transaction. I don’t need to explain this to the President because it is a simple business arrangement... it was a legitimate business arrangement and I did not think at that time that the President (would) get involved in it. I never mentioned it to her," Ang said.
As of yesterday, the President has not yet asked Ang about his supposed "shopping binge" in acquiring additional businesses.
Meanwhile, Bankwise faces lawsuits from its depositor, the Prama Foundation, for illegally siphoning money from the Prama account into Seed Capital Inc., the investment company that shelled out P250 million to purchase controlling shares in Bankwise.
Ang invested 20 percent in Seed Capital Inc., which now owns 60 percent of Bankwise’s shares of stock.
Ang said in a telephone interview that he was not personally aware of the allegations since Prama did not actually write to the bank’s management before reporting the incident to the BSP.
Ang, who was elected Bankwise board chairman, said he will personally investigate Prama’s allegations. "As chairman of the bank, my primary concern is policy-making, but I will look into this. I cannot allow the good reputation of the bank to be tarnished by these charges."
He said that if Prama’s allegations prove to be true, Bankwise will be criminally liable. "That (fund siphoning) cannot be done, that’s criminal," he said.
"My suggestion to the complainant is for him to come forward so the bank itself could check the veracity of these complaints," Ang said.
Prama Foundation president Ramon Collado alleged in a letter to BSP Deputy Governor Alberto Reyes that P3.1 million was withdrawn by one Jose Mari Martinez from the accounts of foreign retirees that comprise the foundation.
Collado also said P600,000 was also withdrawn from its accounts to pay a travel agent for airplane tickets used by Bankwise transitory president Lazaro Madara.
Prama is one of the organizations that mushroomed in the country when former President Fidel Ramos enticed foreign retirees to spend their twilight years in the Philippines by giving them special resident visas in exchange for a one-time fee of $50,000 to $70,000 to enjoy permanent resident status.
These funds are now being managed by the Prama Foundation, which was once involved in a turf war with the government-controlled Philippine Leisure and Retirement Association (PLRA).
BSP Governor Rafael Buenaventura said he had no knowledge of the charges made by Collado. He said the central bank is still sorting through the letter sent to Reyes and assessing whether the BSP is in a position to act on Collado’s complaint.
According to Buenaventura, BSP’s primary concern at the moment is for Bankwise to comply with BSP requirements and fully disclose the ownership and structure of the bank.
In a related development, Ang said he has met with Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and discussed his recent acquisitions, including Tecnogas.
"I only acquired the name and the right to exclusive distributorship of its products in the country," Ang said, adding that Tecnogas itself asked him to help the company after an eight-month strike closed it down.
"By buying into Bankwise and Tecnogas, I had effectively helped to rescue two distressed companies," Ang said. "(My critics) should tell me what law I have violated ... I have no obligation to prove anything to anybody," he also said.
His recent acquisitions raised eyebrows, since Ang already owns the newspapers The Manila Times and Kabayan, which he bought from controversial businessman Mark Jimenez, who purchased the Times from the Gokongwei family. "Instead of being praised," for rescuing two beleaguered companies, Ang asked, "what do I get?"
Ang challenged his critics to file the appropriate charges in the courts, "instead of defaming my character and the honor of my family in media."
"My life, from its modest beginnings, has been very transparent. I am proud to say all of my business dealings are honest and legal. If anyone questions the legality of my entrepreneurial activities, all I ask is for my side to be heard or for the critic to file the appropriate charges in the proper courts," Ang said in a letter to Magsaysay.
"I have no secrets," Ang also said. "I have not kept my business activities secret from the public."
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will require Bankwise to comply with its reportorial requirements, with respect to the disclosure of the taxpayer’s identification numbers (TINs) of certain shareholders of the financially strapped thrift bank.
According to the general information sheet submitted by Bankwise to the SEC in May, Ang and Seed Capital Inc. failed to state their TINs, information required of all SEC-registered corporations. This fuels speculations that Ang and Seed Capital may not be paying the proper taxes.
An SEC official who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "Mr. Ang and Seed Capital will have to disclose their TIN, because this is one way of checking whether they have been paying the right taxes."
Ang, for his part, said his failure to disclose his TIN to the SEC is "just a mere oversight. If that’s a requirement, then I will comply. That’s not a problem."
Besides being the President’s publicist and having diverse business and media interests, Ang also sits as board chairman of government-sequestered RPN-9 television network. — Marichu Villanueva, Des Ferriols, Zinnia de la Peña