Ghost employees, phantom penalties

It was around this time last year when Malacañang accepted the resignation of two Monetary Board (MB) members who got embroiled in an unprecedented ghost employee scandal at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

A year later, here we are still waiting to hear from Malacañang what actions have been taken against the two ex-MB members.

It’s ironic considering that the Marcos administration has been going full throttle on accountability. Didn’t we just witness a Cabinet shake-up supposedly to weed out those who weren’t performing well enough? Some remaining Duterte appointees in government have also been shown the exit door because of questionable deals. There’s a former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration administrator, for instance, who is now in hot water over an unauthorized P1.4-billion land deal.

And then there’s the House of Representatives’ impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly for a long list of wrongdoings.

But the Office of the President has been quiet regarding the two ex-MB members.

This is not something the Marcos administration or any administration should take lightly.

Unfortunately, the last we heard, there has been no legal action taken yet against the two ex-MB members.

By keeping it this way, the Marcos administration is sending the wrong signal to government employees. If it is serious about corruption and wrongdoing, there must be legal action against the two ex-MB officials.

It’s also a chance for both of them to explain their side once and for all and for it to be put on record. More importantly, it would send a signal to the bureaucracy that there is no place for corruption in the Marcos government.

As it is now, what would stop another ranking official from putting ghost employees in his or her office when it’s easy to get away with it? All that one needs to do is to resign when the sh*t hits the fan and run away with one’s benefits intact.

It’s no surprise that some BSP insiders are still sighing in frustration over the lack of legal steps taken by the government over the matter.

As The STAR reported last month, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. clarified that while the issue was treated with the utmost seriousness by the central bank, it was ultimately resolved through the resignation of the two board members.

“I understand that [the] case was settled by the fact that the (former Monetary Board members) stepped down, a rather heavy penalty in itself,” Remolona told The STAR. “The matter as to the two MB members has been referred to the Office of the President, they being presidential appointees.” (The STAR, June 11, 2025).

Based on what Gov. Eli said, the BSP has left it to the Office of the President to handle the matter. It is now up to the OP to act on this.

Under the Revised Penal Code, public officers, including those in the Monetary Board, are subject to significant penalties for misconduct, particularly when it involves the misappropriation of public funds or property.

As it is, we don’t even know how much taxpayers’ money was lost because the investigation has not been made available to the public. But it should be, because as I said, taxpayers’ money was involved.

And while we’re at it, shouldn’t the money be returned to BSP coffers, if that hasn’t happened yet?

Highest policy-making body

The MB is the highest policy-making body of the BSP. Chaired by the BSP Governor, the board oversees monetary policy and financial system supervision.

With the exception of a few individuals, its members have consistently been among the best and the brightest in banking and finance, and supposedly those with untarnished integrity.

The BSP itself has long been regarded as an esteemed and independent institution, supposedly untouched by political shenanigans.

Created in 1993, the BSP replaced the old Central Bank of the Philippines, which lacked independence and had become financially insolvent, no thanks to government-directed lending during the tumultuous years of the Marcos era and the global economic turmoil of the 1980s.

But whether it was the old CBP or the BSP, I was aware of how hardworking its employees were. My grandmother and later on my mother worked as central bank employees for a huge part of their careers.

Later on, during the time of Paeng Buenaventura and Amando Tetangco Jr. as BSP governors, I would also set foot in that sprawling headquarters along Roxas Boulevard, not as an employee but as a reporter covering the banking beat.

It was no doubt an esteemed institution, at least as I knew it.

Like everyone else, I was shocked when I heard about the scandal, which first emerged in late 2023. Four “ghost employees” were later dismissed and penalized.

The BSP, for its part, has introduced several reforms aimed at preventing similar issues in the future and ensuring greater accountability within its ranks.

But at the end of the day, we are still waiting for legal steps from Malacañang to be taken against the two ex-MB members.

Some of the old central bank’s scandals in the ’80s erupted during the time of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. As for Marcos Jr., the ghost employee scandal will be synonymous with his term unless he takes serious action over the matter.

Otherwise, it will just be phantom penalties for a scandal that rocked the institution, which once upon a time may be likened to the Gerousia of Ancient Sparta, long occupied by the wise, the good and the respectable.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.