BIZ BUZZ: Lone survivor at Landbank

In the middle of the heated debate over the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank)-Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) merger plan, the boardroom of Landbank has been repopulated with a brand-new team. Well, almost.

In the middle of this week, Cecille Borromeo is set to turn over Landbank CEO duties to Lynette Ortiz, former country chief of Standard Chartered Bank, the first foreign bank to set up shop in this part of the world.

We say it’s “almost” an entirely new Landbank slate (just like at DBP) now sitting in the boardroom, because there’s just one “survivor” among ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointees. President Marcos recently reappointed former broadcaster Nancy Irlanda to the Landbank board to represent the private sector.

Irlanda—a former student of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno at the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Economics, like Ortiz—is well-loved by employees of the bank.

Sources say that one of the endorsements issued in support of her fresh appointment had cited her consistency at being effective and diligent throughout school and career. She is also seen to contribute institutional memory to board deliberations. Aside from the outgoing CEO, she was among the most vocal in the boardroom during the previous term.

Irlanda first made a name in media covering business and the economy. She has been recognized for her efforts toward corporate governance at Landbank, pushing for policies that resulted in accelerated digital transformation, expanded service to the agriculture sector, and more robust lending policies that safeguard the environment and the public’s money.

Irlanda graduated from the UP School of Economics with the Dean’s Medal and Sicat Award for Best Thesis. By the way, her thesis partner was Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo (the class valedictorian). The two have been friends since grade school at Poveda.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Ex-DBP CEO joins Ovialand board

Emmanuel Herbosa, former president and CEO of the DBP, has taken on the new role of independent board director of Ovialand Inc., one of the country’s fast-growing property development companies.

The widely respected Herbosa brings with him to Ovialand’s board more than 40 years of experience in the financial industry, having started in 1979 as an account manager in the corporate banking unit of Bank of the Philippine Islands.

By the time he retired in 2013, he held positions such as senior vice president, vice president of corporate deposits and COO of the Ayala Insurance Group.

He returned from retirement in 2014 to become executive vice president for Bank of Commerce. He then served as the president and CEO of Philippine Import-Export Credit Agency from 2018 to 2019. Then from 2019 to 2023, Herbosa was the president and CEO of DBP.

Pammy Olivares-Vital, president and CEO of Ovialand, said Herbosa’s addition to the board was “crucial” to the company’s goal to expand throughout the country.

“We look forward to working with him in identifying key areas where Ovialand can strategically maximize its growth for the long term,” she added.

Herbosa, meanwhile, is eager to work with Ovialand, which he feels is yet to realize its full potential.

“Owning a home is an aspiration for Filipino families and as such, I look forward to working with Ovialand in its goal to continue providing the promise of premier family living for Filipinos,” he says.

— Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Fight vs digital fraud

GCash, the most widely used e-wallet in the country, faced crisis in the past week when some users complained about unauthorized deductions in the account balances. To make the matter worse, none of them were able to check immediately if they were affected because the app was down for hours due to maintenance activity.

Fortunately, the financial technology platform backed by Globe Telecom was able to respond quickly and restored the accounts to their original balances.

In line with strengthening the fight against digital fraud, GCash legal and security officials met with Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Alexander Ramos last week following the incident. Ramos also heads the agency’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

The popular e-wallet brand and CICC signed a memorandum of agreement in 2022 for initiatives combating phishing and other online fraud scams.

In January to April, Gcash took down 722 phishing sites and 38,000 malicious social media posts.

— Tyrone Jasper C. Piad