Bid results of Orient Bank's properties known by Tuesday – BSP

Properties in Nasugbu, Batangas seized in 1999 from Orient Commercial Banking Corp. (Orient Bank) president and CEO Jose C. Go are being auctioned off for at least P1.7 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The winner of the bidding may be known by Tuesday morning. The BSP seized the properties, known back then as the 60-hectare Evercrest Golf Club and Resort, after Go was unable to pay back the P5 billion in loans the BSP extended to save Orient Bank from collapse. Orient Bank was shut down on Oct. 14, 1998. The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) promptly placed the bank in receivership. A string of estafa cases and other charges were filed against Go in various courts. The BSP required bidders to submit a “bid bond" equal to 10 percent of their offered price. If the bidding goes into negotiated sale, interested parties are required to present “earnest money" also equal to 10 percent of the negotiated price. The earnest money can be in cash or in cashier’s or manager’s check payable to the BSP. The bond submitted will form part of the sale price when the bid is approved. The BSP said the winner must settle the balance of the bid tender within 10 years. Interest will be 7 percent in the first five years and 8 percent in the next five years. — ELR/VS, GMA News