Officials of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) met on Monday with regulators at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to reassure the latter that all is well at the Lucio Tan-controlled financial institution.
Biz Buzz spoke with a ranking bank official who was present at the crucial meeting who revealed that PNB committed to address BSP concerns, which included the issue of having a permanent president appointed to run things.
We now hear that officer in charge Florido “Doy” Casuela will be named permanent president—for at least two years—by PNB’s board after a yearlong search failed to produce another candidate.
From the looks of it, PNB’s board will also name an independent director as the bank’s new chair to replace current chair Federico “Ding” Pascual, who has reached the maximum number of years at the post allowed by law.
Having an independent director as bank chair is meant to reassure everyone that the board is acting in the interests of its broader stakeholders rather than just a small group of owners like … say … one family.
The question of course is will all these measures be enough to reassure the central bank as well as reinvigorate the bank? Time will tell.
—Daxim L. Lucas
Speaking of which …
Biz Buzz spoke with PNB’s Casuela on Tuesday regarding the issue of the overpriced repairs to a Beechcraft King Air turboprop aircraft that was the subject of an earlier report in this column.
The PNB chief said the bank employees who were recently put on preventive suspension are not in any way connected to the overpriced repairs issue. Instead, they were the subject of a separate whistleblower’s complaint alleging other kinds of corporate malfeasance, ranging from allegations of inaccurate attendance and timekeeping to the misdeclared values of bank equipment being disposed of.
“This is a separate issue that began only in January 2023,” Casuela said, explaining that the bank rejected the overpriced repairs to its aircraft way back in 2021.
So … case closed? Abangan!
—Daxim L. Lucas
Taking the exit lane
Mark Steven Pastor, transportation undersecretary for road transport and infrastructure, is leaving the government after six years of serving at the agency. He filed his resignation last month and it is effective on April 20.
The outgoing transportation official is ready to spend more time with his family and focus on his overall well-being.
“As much as I desire to stay, I believe it is high time that I should focus on my family, especially on my children, who are fast-growing up and have been feeling my absence,” he said.
“Aside from this, I would also like to prioritize and improve my health, as I have partly neglected both my physical and mental well-being from dedicating most of my time to tending to my work duties and responsibilities,” he added.
Among his projects during his stint are the promotion of bike lanes and service contracting program.
Transportation Undersecretary Anneli Lontoc will serve as officer in charge of the road transport and infrastructure office.