W E D N E S D AY : A p r i l 6 , 2 0 1 6
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RCBC can open 4 accounts By Macon Ramos-Araneta
Proof of innocence.
RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. said on Tuesday it is now able to open the four accounts through which the $81-million stolen from Bangladesh Bank were channeled after it was determined that the accounts were opened under fictitious names. At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing into the biggest cyber bank heist, RCBC lawyer Maria Cecilia Estavillo said the controversial accounts are no longer covered by the Bank Secrecy Law because it was determined that accounts were opened with fake driver’s licenses. Estavillo said the bank can now close the four accounts because they were opened under the names of Michael Cruz, Alfred Vergara, Enrico Vasquez and Jessie Lagrosas as shown in the driver’s licenses presented to the bank, along with initial deposits of $500 each, at the time of the opening. “[But] the [Land Transportation Office] licenses given to the four were all fake. This is already a legal basis to close those accounts, and with that, I hope you will open those accounts,” said Bam Aquino, presenting certifications issued by the LTO. RCBC president-on-leave Lorenzo Tan noted that dismissed RCBC-Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito opened the accounts through which the $81-million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank’s accounts in the United States were transferred last February. Tan accused Deguito of trying to muddle the issue to downplay her role as one of the masterminds of this caper and said she “had already testified under oath in a previous Senate hearing that I have never instructed her to open any account at
the RCBC-Jupiter branch, and that she merely assumed that I knew of the transaction.” He said Deguito misrepresented and attempted to portray him (Tan) as complicit in her actions as she prefaced her written statement with a claim that she is simply a mother who is working to earn a living with her husband and who simply desires to be promoted in the bank. In a prepared statement read before the senators, Deguito said she has unwittingly allowed herself to be set up as a scapegoat. “We of course know where Ms. Deguito is coming from when, out of the blue, she said in Tuesday’s resumption of the Senate probe that she was a mere victim of this cyber heist and that her only fault was in obeying the supposed order from her erstwhile boss, Mr. Tan, for her to take care of his friends,” Tan’s lawyer Francis Lim said. “Her latest statement is but the latest episode in her wild narrative about my client’s alleged involvement in this cyber crime just to obfuscate the issues and downplay her role as one of the masterminds of this caper,” he added. But senators took turns in grilling her about her direct involvement in the money laundering and her supposed role in the theft was bolstered by Estavillo’s testimony that the bank’s Head Office was supposed to freeze the laundered money at the Jupiter branch.
After returning $4.63 million and P38.28 million, businessman Kim Wong said during a Senate hearing that he is preparing to return P450 million more within 30 days. The funds were deposited in the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. after they were stolen from the US Federal Reserve accounts of the Bangladeshi central bank. LINO SANTOS
Manila airport chief won’t resign By Joel E. Zurbano MANILA International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado said on Tuesday he will not resign over the five-hour brownout at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 which resulted in the cancellations of more than 80 flights over the weekend. “Service is our priority,” Honrado said. “If every time there will be a problem every month you ask the official to resign, then you are looking
for a problem every month,” Honrado said during a press conference. Honrado called the news briefing after Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. demanded that he and Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya resign for the many problems that have emerged under their management of their assigned agencies. Marcos said Abaya’s department has been the biggest source of problems in government. He pointed out that the five-hour power
outage was just one of the many incidents showing the incompetence of people in the DoTC. “With Secretary Abaya, I’m sorry but DoTC has been the source of so many problems and when he came in we had hoped we would be the one to rationalize his department but he has been a disappointment because nothing good has happened,” Marcos said. As for Honrado, Marcos said he has been calling for his resignation for years.
“I’ve been calling for his resignation for years. He does not know his job. I asked him during the [evidence planting] hearings what his job was as a general manager. I remember him saying he coordinates but he does not control the people in the airport. If there is no control, how does he manage?” Marcos said. He said he later learned that Honrado had more than P1 billion in intelligence fund but it would seem the money is not being put to good use.
Poe hits Roxas camp meet By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Sara D. Fabunan INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe said President Benigno Aquino should look into reports that some active police generals met with the camp of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas to squelch speculations of electioneering among government employees. But Roxas II denied that he met with the highranking Philippine National Police who were caught in a meeting with a known Roxas supporter at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections on Tuesday scrapped the controversial P26.6million contract for the purchase of 300,000 bib vests for public teachers who will serve as election inspectors in next month’s election. “This is my appeal to the PNP and military not just because I am a candidate here but it is provided in our law. They should be neutral especially during election day and the cam-
paign period,” Poe said. “I am also making this call not only to the President but to the government. While they are in position, it does not mean they would be controlling everything. They have a sworn duty to serve not only themselves but the entire public,” said Poe. She noted that the police and military are responsible to ensure the safety of everybody and all political parties. During the reported meeting of the four police generals with LP staffers in a hotel near the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Poe expressed hope they met to discuss the safety and protection of everybody. The four generals were seen in a meeting with retired police general Marcelo Garbo Jr., a supporter of Roxas, and Thea Reyes, a staff of Roxas. The four generals were identified as Director Generoso Cervo Jr., chief of the PNP directorate for intelligence; Chief Supt. Renier Idio, Cagayan Valley police chief; Bernardo Diaz of the Western Visayas police and Ronald Santos, deputy regional director for administration of the Southern Tagalog police.
Me resign? Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel
Honrado summoned airport reporters on Tuesday to explain the reason for the weekend power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He is accompanied by MIAA spokesperson Dave Decastro and Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga. DANNY PATA