Swine loan scammers cannot hidebehind bank secrecy law: Escudero

April 7, 2008

OPPOSITION Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday belied the claim of Malacañang that the Quedan and Rural Credit Corp. (Quedancor) could not publish the names of its borrowers because of the bank secrecy law.

Escudero said the bank secrecy law covers only deposits and not loans.

An anomaly involving the Quedancor was made public by lawyer Harry Roque who said the Commission on Audit has discovered that at least P1.4 billion of the P2.5 billion that Quedancor released for the swine industry remains unliquidated. He said the farmers who supposedly received hogs were paid P200 to P300 to sign papers that indicated they received the livestock.

Escudero has asked Quedancor to publish the names of the borrowers. But Apostol, invoking the bank secrecy law, said Quedancor “would be liable to borrowers if it publishes their names without their permission.”

“Bank secrecy law covers deposits. Quedancor is not a deposit-taking institution. It is a non-bank financing institution. Only banks are allowed to use deposit instruments,” Escudero said.

R.A. 1405 (Bank Deposits Secrecy Law) states that all deposits of whatever nature with banks in the Philippines, including investments in government bonds, are absolutely confidential in nature. It prohibits the examination or inquiry into such deposits or investments.

Escudero said Quedancor could not hide behind the bank secrecy law. “All I’m asking for is to make public the list of borrowers. What was used in this program is public funds and is therefore subject to public accountability. The public has the rightful claim to information on where our taxes go,” he said.

Escudero said the loans are automatically subject to government audit because they are government funds.

He asked what the COA, the primary institution in charge of examining proper use of public funds, is doing. “If they have already audited Quedancor, we also want to see their findings and recommendations,” Escudero said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier called for an investigation.

He said President Arroyo might have a direct hand in it because it coincided with the 2004 presidential elections, the year the supervision of the financing agency was transferred to the Office of the President from the Department of Agriculture.

Escudero also expressed the same apprehension that the swine-raising funds could have been diverted to the administration campaign fund for the 2004 polls.

He said the publication of the list of delinquent borrowers would remove speculations the fund was pocketed by corrupt officials or was diverted to the administration’s campaign chest.
BY JP LOPEZ

source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/apr08/news3.htm

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