Shots fired by DBP: ‘Landbank failed in its mandate’

PHOTO: Landbank-DBP, INQUIRER FILES

MANILA  -Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is doubling down on its vigorous opposition to the proposed merger with Land Bank of the Philippines, which is expected to render thousands of DBP workers jobless.

And yet, if the merger cannot be avoided, DBP management believes it should be the surviving entity considering that its track record in fulfilling its mandate is better than Landbank’s.

DBP chair Dante Tiñga said in an interview they intend to file at the Office of the President (OP) within the next two weeks a memorandum that would serve as an appeal for the Chief Executive to consider that the planned merger needs to go through Congress, contrary to the assertion of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GCG).

Tiñga clarified that what DBP filed at the OP on April 18 was a notice of appeal, and not the appeal proper.

“The GCG cannot act on the proposed merger while there is a pending appeal,” he said.

GCG earlier submitted to the OP its legal study on the matter, which affirmed that such a merger does not need a new law passed in Congress and that existing laws gave the President authority to implement a combination of the state banks.

READ: GCG: Legislation not needed for Landbank-DBP merger

‘Self-serving declaration’

In a press briefing, Tiñga said the GCG’s legal study was a “self-serving declaration” that was favorable to the GCG’s own interest and a “hearsay opinion” that is “not admissible as proof of the facts asserted.”

Tiñga, a former member of the House of Representatives as well as a former Associate Justice at the Supreme Court, added that instead of interpreting its own charter—the GOCC Governance Act of 2011—GCG “should have been left at the capable hands” of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC).

“The OSG and the OGCC are mandated by their respective charters to serve as the lawyers of the government together with its units and GOCCs, respectively,” the DBP chair said.

Based on the assumption presented by the Department of Finance(9DOF) in pushing for the merger, three-fourths of DBP’s operations and workforce might be considered redundant.

Tiñga said that with a headcount totaling about 4,000, the DOF’s assumptions mean that about 3,000 workers will lose their jobs.

Still, he said that if the Landbank-DBP merger was inevitable, it should be DBP absorbing Landbank and continuing to operate.

Landbank-DBP merger needs law, not just EO, says lawmaker

DBP’s better performance

“The DBP, with its richer legacy, more extensive experience and expertise and better track record in development financing, is more deserving to be the better surviving bank,” Tiñga said.

“What is the record of Landbank? It has not accomplished its mandate—the country is suffering from low agricultural production and we have low food security,” he added.

Meanwhile, Landbank said on Tuesday that the merger with United Coconut Planters Bank—through Executive Order No. 142 issued in June 2021—has been successfully completed on Feb 25, ahead of the March 1 deadline set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. INQ