Laguna depositors distraught over LBC bank troubles
LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—Depositors of the LBC Development Bank were “outraged” and distraught after the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank Monday.
“There were a lot (of depositors that came) especially this morning so that we didn’t even have the time to take breakfast,” said a PDIC representative deployed to the branch in Batangas City.
The representative, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak to the media, said most of the depositors, around 10 of whom came during the first hour in the morning, claimed the takeover “caught them by surprise.”
“You could see some of them nearly cried. An old woman was shaking, I saw her hands. She said her deposit was over P500,000,” the representative said by phone.
The representative said the PDIC is set to hold a per branch depositors’ forum to answer queries and explain the requirements for claiming deposits.
The insurance, however, only covers the maximum deposit of P500,000, the representative said.
For Batangas City, the forum is set on Wednesday although the representative said they had yet to finalize the venue.
Around 100 depositors also trooped to a branch on Mabini Street in San Pedro, Laguna, Monday.
“No one went hysterical but you would know (depositors were) angry. It’s just normal because these are their hard-earned money,” said the representative.
The representative added that PDIC representatives would be available at the bank branches in the coming days to attend to the claimants.
Nathaniel A. Tubokon, public information officer of the PDIC in Naga City, said they still have to conduct a depositors’ forum to explain the circumstances and the process of claiming insured deposit.
Tubokon assured that the depositors would be given their due once all the papers and requirements were completed and submitted to the PDIC.
A depositor, who requested anonymity, said she called up the branch manager to inquire about the reasons for the closure but that the manager was just as surprised and could not explain.
Maria Theresa Enojado, manager of LBC Development Bank in Naga City, affirmed in a phone interview that she was “shocked” at the closure of the bank.
Enojado said they had no idea what happened because “everything was okay and operation was running smoothly without any problem in liquidity” as far as she knew.
She said they were instructed by the bank’s management to assist the PDIC in evaluating the records of the bank but were looking forward to its reopening.
“Our main concern now is to ensure that depositors could take back all their deposits and for us to get back our jobs,” Enojado said.
She said she hoped the bank could still reopen after the PDIC evaluation.
