CA junks Perfecto Yasay Jr. plea to lift arrest order

MANILA, Philippines — Former foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. failed to get relief from the Court of Appeals (CA) to nullify the arrest order issued against him by the Manila regional trial court (RTC) on charges of bank fraud.

In a three-page resolution promulgated on Sept. 12, the appellate court’s former Ninth Division denied Yasay’s petition to quash the warrant for his arrest.

The Manila RTC Branch 8 served an arrest order on Yasay on Aug. 22. He was released after posting bail.

Yasay is facing charges for violating the Central Bank Act over a case filed against him and four others by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for allegedly conspiring in securing a P350-million loan from the shuttered Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank while they were in office from 2001 to 2009.

Yasay was a former vice chairman of Banco Filipino.

The CA said Yasay’s petition was premature because he filed similar motions before the court, which have yet to be resolved.

The other respondents were the bank’s former executives Francisco Rivera, Maxy Abad, Teodoro Arcenas and Albert Aguirre.