BIZ BUZZ: PNB ‘presidentiables’
After headhunting far and wide, it’s possible that the next president of Philippine National Bank won’t be a stranger to the current hierarchy.
One advantage of going for an internal promotion is that the appointee will no longer have to adjust to the corporate culture and complex shareholder politics at tycoon Lucio Tan’s banking arm.
According to the internal grapevine, one of the contenders is Dondi Baltazar, currently PNB executive vice president and head of the global banking and markets sector. He is a treasury guy—just like many of his peers who had cut their teeth in the dealing room before rising to the CEO post, such as Paul Favila, Victor Valdepenas and even PNB’s former chiefs Wick Veloso and Eugene Acevedo.
READ: PNB’s full-year profit puffed up to P21.2B in 2024
Baltazar joined PNB in 2019. Before that, he headed global markets trading at HSBC Philippines and also used to be a trader at Citibank and the old Far East Bank.
While he is no spring chicken, Baltazar is still more than two decades younger than the current president, Florido “Doy” Casuela.
But even if Casuela is already in his early 80s, banking sources note that Casuela’s leadership—in place since 2022—has become a “tough act to follow.”
Under his auspices, PNB recently announced a cash dividend of P2.76 per common share out of the bank’s 2024 unrestricted retained earnings, which will be paid in April (first tranche) and October (second tranche) this year. The last time that PNB paid dividends was way back in 2016.
Thus, our sources say that it’s possible that Casuela could remain in this post, for as long as he is willing to do so. Nonetheless, there’s no harm in succession planning.
Another possible “presidentiable,” a much younger one at that, is Chester Luy, who left Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. to join PNB in 2018. He is an investment banker who has spent most of his professional career overseas.
Luy had previously worked for other big institutions like Bank of Singapore (as managing director), Barclays Capital, HSBC Securities, JP Morgan Chase, Julius Baer and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Aside from his board seat at PNB, Luy has taken on board seats at other companies within the group. Although not a direct family member, he is related to a son-in-law of the Tan patriarch.
There’s another name floating in the grapevine, but this one is an external prospect: a former bank president.
Will the next PNB chief be an insider or outsider? —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Twisting his words
After reportedly saying that the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agency, the National Food Authority, were among the most corrupt government agencies, Ombudsman Samuel Martires was quick to clarify that his pronouncement had been taken out of context.
“In fairness to them, I am not saying they are the most corrupt. No. When you talk about the most corrupt government agency, you have to consider agencies beyond those located [at] Quezon Memorial Circle,” Martires said in an interview with DZRH.
Martires said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has been highly cooperative with the Office of the Ombudsman in ongoing investigations into certain DA agencies, often providing advance reports to his office.
READ: DA forms ‘integrity circle’ to fight corruption
He also lauded the new DA chief’s efforts to eliminate smuggling and other unlawful practices, such as strengthening the Inspectorate and Enforcement Division amid concerns on rice and onion smuggling.
Tiu Laurel welcomed Martires’ clarification as he vowed to end unfair trade practices and other illegal activities that harm the agriculture sector.
”I can confidently say that since I assumed office, we have worked tirelessly to clean our ranks,” Tiu Laurel said on Wednesday.
“We will not stand idly by while anyone—inside or outside the DA—attempts to undermine the law,” he added.
Since assuming the top DA post in November 2023, Tiu Laurel said the agency has apprehended and confiscated billions of pesos worth of smuggled goods, blacklisted almost a dozen unscrupulous importers and filed charges against some of them.
Tiu Laurel assured the Filipino people that the DA would stop at nothing to combat corruption and smuggling activities, citing ongoing policy reforms within the agency.
But with four years left in the Marcos administration, can the agency truly end all illicit acts that have plagued the farm sector over the years? —Jordeene B. Lagare
