Court orders closure of police savings bank

Depositors of the Police Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (POSLAI) were literally left holding an empty bag after the bank was suddenly padlocked by a court sheriff over a civil case filed by one of the bank’s lenders.

Manila Deputy Sheriff Conrado Lamano also posted a notice of public auction on the bank’s properties after Regional Trial Court Branch 37 ruled in favor of a civil suit filed by one Peter Ignacio against POSLAI officials led by retired police Col. Vicente Palmon for non-payment of a P6-million loan plus interest.

The POSLAI building sits on a government lot inside the Western Police District (WPD) compound along United Nations Avenue in Ermita, Manila.

Policemen-depositors who still have an active account with POSLAI are now in a quandary over the fate of their deposits. "What will happen now to our deposits deducted from us every payday? Where do we get the refund?" asked a number of policemen interviewed at random by The STAR.

At the same time, the affected policemen are calling on officials at the PNP Finance Center in Camp Crame to unilaterally stop their deductions for POSLAI deposits since the bank is now closed.

As this developed, some 300 policemen and firemen from the Visayas and Mindanao are set to file more estafa charges against POSLAI officials over the bank’s failure to pay its financial obligations to its depositors.

Representatives of the beleaguered POSLAI depositors from Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon had sought an audience with Manila’s Finest Retirees Association, Inc. (MFRAI) president, retired police Col. Felicisimo Lazaro to seek legal advice on how they can recover their deposits.

The MFRAI had took up the cudgels for 23 police retirees in Metro Manila in filing 23 counts of estafa charges against nine POSLAI officers and board of trustees. The case is presently being heard at the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 22.

Charged were POSLAI officials led by Palmon and board members Inspector Cesario Tubog, SPO4 Reynaldo Li, SPO3 Radito Perez; retired police officials Felix Pineda, Cesar Baria and Armando Inabangan; and civilian officers Vicente Ray Palmon III and Yolanda Sales.

All the accused have posted bail of P575,000 each.