Bank sues employee for theft

Metrobank, the country’s largest bank, has filed charges of qualified theft against an employee of its branch in Lucena City, Quezon after discovering that she allegedly absconded with the money of some depositors.

In a statement, Metrobank said the suspect, Mely Chua-Tadiosa, a member of a prominent family in Lucena, is a junior officer in charge of opening time deposits, special savings accounts and other investment instruments.

The bank said Tadiosa is being hunted down since she went AWOL (absent without official leave) more than two weeks ago.

It is currently in the middle of conducting an investigation of depositors’ complaints. At least 10 depositors claiming to have been victimized by Tadiosa have sought the help of the local media.

"The records of each of the accounts concerned are being verified by the bank’s auditors. All transactions found to be valid will be honored by the bank. In fact, the bank has started paying claims already proven to be valid," Metrobank said.

Alex Yu, the bank’s vice president and area supervisor, said, "The accounts concerned are isolated cases. We are assuring our depositors that their accounts with us are safe and secure."

Yu said other depositors of the bank’s branches in Lucena have maintained their accounts with Metrobank, "their confidence not being affected by these isolated cases."

However, since its records are still being audited, Metrobank said it has yet to determine the total amount of the deposits concerned.

One of the depositors, Modesta Sin, said in a radio interview that she was surprised to learn that she supposedly withdrew P900,000 from her account which she never did.

She said she later found out that her signature was forged in withdrawal slips. — With Arnell Ozaeta