Ex-Trade Minister Ongpin denounces 'witch-hunt' at DBP

The so-called controversial loans given by Development Bank of the Philippines to a company of former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin were some of the most profitable transactions entered into by the state-run bank. That was according to Ongpin whose statement on the matter was published as full-page ads in Philippine national newspapers on Tuesday. “As a result of these [P660-million loans], the DBP made a total of over P4 million in interest income," he said, noting that the loans were repaid before maturity. Ongpin is one of DBP's former and incumbent officials charged with graft and violation of banking laws in a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman by Jose Nuñez and Francisco del Rosario Jr., DBP chair and president, respectively. The businessman noted it was “beyond comprehension why Mr. Nuñez et. al. chose these loans to point a finger" at him and ex-DBP president Reynaldo David. Ongpin said the “witch-hunt" went on for a “protracted time" and with “constant pressure" from Nuñez’s group. He also said it even prodded the apparent suicide of Benjamin Pinpin, legal counsel of the government bank. “It is indeed tragic that a young lawyer, with his entire family ahead of him, has decided to end his life because he could no longer bear the pressure of being coerced by Nuñez and the DBP board to make statements and affidavits which in the lawyer’s own words were false," he said. For someone to commit suicide, Ongpin said that “one can only imagine the kind of pressure he must have been subjected to… This fact is indisputable and beyond question, as his own suicide letters to his wife and family bear out." At the time of Pinpin’s death, “there were no formal charges at all... We were just asking [him] to explain [his] side because that’s part of due process," said Zenaida Ongkiko Acorda, the lawyer representing the DBP board, in a report on GMA News TV’s “News to Go."
In its complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, the DBP accused Ongpin and David of “connivance" in a transaction that resulted in “exposing [the] DBP to high lending risks." It also said the bank’s officials at the time skirted many regulations to grant the loan. “These are signs of a behest loan," according to the DBP. "Disparaging article" Ongpin devoted a large part of his paid ads disputing an online article by ABS-CBNNews.com’s Lala Rimando, who wrote a two-part piece about how the “behest" loans transpired. Rimando wrote an “inaccurate, disparaging, and very critical article," according to the former Trade minister. “The inexplicable thing about the article is that she interviewed everyone but did not bother to interview me. I can only conclude that she had a predetermined angle to her story… That is why she made no attempt to interview me," Ongpin added. In response, Rimando pointed out: “I had ‘no predetermined angle’ contrary to what Mr. Ongpin claims. I merely wanted to explain the complicated deals that occurred in 2009 and provide the context under which they happened. That to me is my only role as journalist." ABS-CBNNews.com editor in chief Gani de Castro also said Rimando’s article was “very long. We were pressed for time. ‘Di na namin nakuha ‘yung side ni Mr. Ongpin." However, De Castro said the online news site uploaded Ongpin’s letter to the editor on June 7 and 10. Rimando’s piece was published in May. Six banks Rimando alleged in her report that Ongpin used the DBP money to accumulate Philex Mining Corp. shares starting from 2007 — when copper was $2.50 per lb vs. $4.15 today and gold was $600 vs. $1,500 an ounce today — and later unloading them in late 2009 to tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan. The report describes how Ongpin, DBP’s David, and Pangilinan allegedly made money, and how the latter acquired control of Philex, a growth stock as the metals boom was fueled by China and India’s growth. Ongpin took out an estimated P4 billion in loans from six banks, including the UK-based Ashmore Group. The DBP component accounted for only 20 percent of the total amount. The loans supposedly helped DBP post record profits in 2009. “Thus, the persistent accusation that there was a sweetheart deal between DBP and myself simply does not hold water," Ongpin noted. “As I said, I borrowed from a total of six banks who were happy to lend me because my loans were fully secured and they have now all been fully paid." “I wish to inform Mr. Nuñez and his cohorts that I have been around a long time and have fought many battles before this. I assure them that this is one battle that I will see to its conclusion, because an innocent man has died and reputations have been impugned because of what they have done." Ongpin likewise said he had received information that “substantial amounts of budgets have been set aside to advance and promote DBP’s position." “If this is true, I would like to inform Mr. Nuñez et. al. that it does not worry me one bit because I have no doubt that at the end, the truth will prevail and that the guilty will get the retribution they deserve," he said. — JE/OMG/VS/HS, GMA News