Ongpin files graft raps vs BSP deputy governor

MANILA, Philippines - Making good his threat, Marcos-era trade minister Roberto Ongpin filed graft charges with the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deputy governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. in connection with the latter’s role in the issuance of a freeze order on the businessman’s bank accounts by the Court of Appeals (CA).

The criminal suit was based on Espenilla’s contradictory position on Ongpin’s purchase of Philex Mining Corp. shares from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in 2009.

Ongpin said Espenilla had declared before the Senate last year that the sale of 50 million Philex shares was “prudent and positive” and resulted in “trading gains for DBP.”

But last November, Espenilla – as acting chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) – signed a petition to the CA seeking a freeze on Ongpin’s bank accounts, citing the “irregular” and “behest” nature of the DBP loans.

“Mr. Espenilla’s act of signing the AMLC Resolution, which runs counter to the position which he earlier took and declared under oath before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, is the proximate cause of undue injury to Ongpin and his companies,” said Ongpin’s lawyer Alex Poblador.

As a result of the freeze order, the value of Ongpin’s shareholdings in listed firms Philweb, Alphaland, Atok Bid-Wedge, ISM and PBCom fell by P8 billion.

“Other than the freeze order (which was initiated by the AMLC Resolution), there has been no other significant development that would have caused the value of the stock of these companies to ‘drop like a rock’ across-the-board. That the blame lies squarely at the doorstep of Mr. Espenilla is underscored by the fact that the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) experienced almost record highs in terms of profits during the last quarter of 2012,” Ongpin pointed out.

Sec. 3(e) of the Anti-Graft Law punishes public officers found guilty of “causing undue injury to any party including the government in the discharge of his official functions, or giving any private party unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his functions, through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”

“Because of this enormous financial damage done to me by Mr. Espenilla, I will also file a major civil suit against Mr. Espenilla,” Ongpin said.

Ongpin said he is also considering filing criminal and civil suits against AMLC executive director Vicente Aquino.

“We have faith in the judicial system and we hope that the Ombudsman will be impartial in evaluating the complaint we filed against a ranking officer of the Bangko Sentral,” Poblador said.

Ongpin, in his complaint, also denied allegations that the loans granted to his companies were behest.

He explained that the P150-million loan of Delta Ventures Resources Inc. (DVRI) from DBP in April 2009 was used to purchase shares of stock in Philex. In November the same year, he said DVRI secured another loan from DBP in the amount of P510 million which was used to purchase 50,000,000 Philex shares owned by the DBP.

Ongpin said the two loans were promptly and fully paid with interest, well ahead of their maturity dates.

“The loans were not ‘behest loans.’ No less than DBP itself in its complaint-affidavit filed with the Ombudsman acknowledged that the loans were fully paid on  Dec. 8, 2009. Under long settled jurisprudence, for a loan to be considered behest, it must be non-performing or in default,” he stressed. 

The BSP, meanwhile, said it is standing by Espenilla. “As an independent central monetary authority, the BSP has the responsibility to ensure that careful evaluation of critical elements is made before final decisions are promulgated,” the central bank pointed out.

In September 2012, the Ombudsman issued a resolution finding probable cause to charge Ongpin and others in a criminal case filed by the DBP against those supposedly involved in the granting of behest loans. The appellate court ordered a temporary freeze on about 100 bank accounts linked to Ongpin. – Zinnia dela Peña, Michael Punongbayan, Donnabelle Gatdula