BSP says SC decision on Banco Filipino suit not final

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday undermined doused reports it is liable for P18.8 billion in damages sought by thrift bank Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank. In a statement, the BSP said the Dec. 8 Supreme Court ruling merely meant that the damage suit filed by Banco Filipino should go to trial, with the BSP as a respondent. The high court’s decision did not automatically order the payout of the multi-billion peso claim, the BSP argued. "The effect of the resolution is to implead the BSP in a damage suit pending before the Regional Trial Court of Makati. It does not adjudicate or award any damage or claim against the BSP," the statement read. In a decision handed down on Dec. 8, the high court magistrates said the BSP inherits the 13-year old case from its predecessor, the old Central Bank, the original respondent. It also ruled that the trial court has jurisdiction over the assessment of the damages sought by Banco Filipino. The Aguirre family lodged the damage suit in 1995, two years after the old Central Bank was abolished and four years after the high court ruled that its Banco Filipino was illegally padlocked by the old central bank. The BSP said the Supreme Court resolution is not yet final and that the Central Bank Board of Liquidators, the liquidator of the old Central Bank, has the option to appeal the ruling. — M. E. I. Calderon, BusinessWorld