MANILA, Philippines — The other Monetary Board Member (MBM) linked to the ghost employee scandal in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has yet to file a resignation letter, even as bankers and government officials were shocked over the involvement of their former colleague.
The other MBM remained firm about not quitting days after Tolentino handed his resignation letter to Malacañang.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. earlier said the central bank is waiting for word from Malacañang since MBMs are appointed by the president of the Philippines.
The fate of the two members involved in the scandal lies with President Marcos, who has yet to make his decision regarding the issue.
In January, the BSP was able to identify four ghost employees who received the benefits and salaries without reporting for work. It is currently taking administrative action against these individuals.
The BSP earlier said the Monetary Board would function normally despite the ongoing investigation involving two of its members and would continue to do so as long as there is a minimum of four members to perform the duties of the MB.
“Despite the concerning nature, the central bank’s proactive approach to addressing the issue, combined with its track record of sound monetary policy and role in maintaining economic stability, suggests that the impact on financial markets may be managed and short-lived, if any at all,” Security Bank chief economist Robert Dan Roces said.
“As the BSP continues to handle the situation transparently and decisively, it can help maintain confidence and minimize any lasting consequences, particularly given the resilience of the Philippine economy and the central bank’s history of sound decision-making,” Roces added.
Current and former officials at the Department of Agriculture were shocked by the controversies involving Tolentino, who was a former DA official.
One source, who had worked with the embattled MBM in the past, described Tolentino as a good man with utmost integrity who is incapable of doing illegal and unscrupulous actions.
“He is a good man. He is not corrupt. Masyado siyang matino (He is too decent),” the source said.
Another source said that Tolentino has a “lot of delicadeza” as he chose to resign instead of his name being “dragged in the mud.”
The source added that Tolentino could have been caught in the current administration’s “cleansing” of officials appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Tolentino served as an assistant secretary and eventually an undersecretary for planning, policy and international trade of the DA from 1986 to 1993.
Tolentino was also the founding executive director of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, an attached agency of the DA that focuses on facilitating credit access to local farmers, from 1987 to 1990.
In 2020, Tolentino received the Lifetime Contributor Award from the DA for his efforts in contributing to the development of the country’s agriculture sector and for reforming the agricultural credit policy system.
“Indeed, rice has been my life’s work. I worked on rice in various agencies, in various countries, in various roles and capacities,” Tolentino was quoted as saying in a previous DA news release.
“In 1986, when I started working at the Department of Agriculture under (then) secretary Carlos Dominguez, I also happened to be working with Dr. William Dar, who was then the director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research. I was lucky to have those two men to work with, and they have both inspired me throughout my career,” he added.
CA: BSP, PDIC execs guilty
The Court of Appeals (CA) has found executives from the BSP and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) guilty of indirect contempt for disregarding a court order to reopen AMA Rural Bank of Mandaluyong for over two years.
In an 18-page ruling written by Associate Justice Mary Charlene Hernandez-Azura and concurred with by Associate Justices Victoria Isabel Paredes and Florencio Mamauag Jr., the CA 12th Division found that the officials acted in bad faith, considering that the delay of more than two years in complying with the court order to reopen the bank and return its assets seized five years ago has no good justification.
“This court is compelled to conclude that the delay is deliberate, given that the procedural complexities highlighted by Respondents do not align with the actual simplicity of the instructions of the Court,” the CA decision stated.
With the verdict, the appellate court imposed a fine of P30,000 on 18 former and current BSP and PDIC officials.
Those found accountable are former finance secretary and BSP Monetary Board Member Carlos Dominguez III; former BSP governors Benjamin Diokno and Felipe Medalla; former Metrobank president and MBM Antonio Abacan; MBM V. Bruce Tolentino and PDIC officers Roberto Tan, Eduardo Pangan, Rogelio Guadalquiver, Maria Antonette Brillantes-Bolivar, Mylene Fariñas-Pasamba, Mary Rosary Lagman, Reynaldo Tansioco, Juan De Zuñiga Jr., Aurora Ignacio, Pamela Angeli Solis-Ty, Nelson Portacio and Elaine Deticio.
The BSP stopped AMA Rural Bank’s operations and placed it under PDIC receivership in November 2019.
The CA, however, nullified this decision in 2020 and instructed the BSP and the PDIC to restore the bank’s operations and return assets worth P436 million.
Instead of complying, the BSP and PDIC officials imposed various measures which resulted in delays, including demanding a meticulous document turnover, seeking a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court (which affirmed the CA decision favoring AMA Rural Bank) and filing criminal charges against the closed bank.– Daphne Galvez