Depositor’s 'suicide' linked to Banco Filipino woes

With a suicide note expressing dismay over Banco Filipino’s financial woes attributed to him, a depositor of the beleaguered bank appeared to have committed suicide Tuesday, Las Piñas police officials on the same day said. Carmino Mangubat Jr., whom relatives confirmed was a Banco Filipino depositor, was found dead by investigators on Tuesday with a nine-millimeter handgun and a supposed suicide note, said Las Piñas City police chief Senior Superintendent Romulo Sapitula in an interview on dzBB. “Ang Banco Filipino magulo raw at ang Central Bank. ‘Yan ang buod ng kanyang suicide note (Banco Filipino is a big mess, and so is the Central Bank. That is the gist of his suicide note)," Sapitula said. In March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered Banco Filipino closed and placed under receivership, explaining that its liabilities had topped its assets by P8.4 billion. (See: BSP orders Banco Filipino closed, placed under PDIC receivership) Banco Filipino, however, denied the claims and accused the BSP of conducting a smear campaign against it, which it said undermined depositors’ confidence. ‘Big’ deposit for him Quoting Mangubat’s relatives, Sapitula said the victim’s deposit in Banco Filipino is not too big, amounting to around P200,000. “Pero karaniwang tao lang ito, kaya malaki ito para sa kanya (But he was an ordinary person, so the amount is huge for him)," the police official said. Sapitula said police officials, on the other hand, are not discounting the possibility of foul play behind Mangubat’s death, which he linked to initial reports of a shooting incident at 9:30 a.m. at the Philamlife subdivision in Las Piñas. “Ang initial findings, suicide, pero may process na gagawin sa pag-imbestiga para mapatunayan nating suicide, tulad ng laboratory exam o findings ng SOCO," Sapitula said. (The initial findings point to suicide but there is a process to be followed, including laboratory tests and findings of the Scene of Crime Operations.)—PE/JV, GMA News