Trillanes ‘exposé’ causing bank jitters

Businessmen depositors of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) have expressed concern about Senator Antonio Trillanes’ “exposé” about the BPI bank account of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, even showing a bundle of documents purportedly detailing transactions involving the account which the senator initially said had over P200 million, later claiming it to be over P2 billion.

Trillanes said he got the information from a “concerned citizen” named Joseph de Mesa who got the documents from a relative working in an agency “involved in investigating ill-gotten wealth of government officials.” Trillanes’ “revelation” has triggered suspicions from Duterte supporters the government could be behind this “demolition job” against the presidential frontrunner. Others are certainly bothered that sensitive information is being passed on by employees to relatives. 

The initial silence of BPI regarding the issue triggered outrage among netizens, some of whom closed their accounts, saying they do not feel “safe” with the bank. While BPI issued a statement saying an internal investigation revealed “no breach,” big depositors are jittery because a bank insider could have “leaked” the existence of the account.

A longtime depositor in BPI admitted he is very disturbed at the seeming breach in RA 1045 or the Bank Secrecy Law because of the possibility that details of private accounts such as his could be divulged to robbery and holdup gangs or even kidnapping syndicates – which could make him a target.

Two weeks ago, robbers took P6.2 million from a BPI armored car just when employees were preparing to load the money in an ATM terminal. Authorities suspect an inside job, recalling another heist last October when robbers took P2.4 million from a BPI ATM machine undergoing repairs.

Many are daring Trillanes to file a sworn affidavit and shed his immunity as a senator, saying that if his documents are true, then he could be charged for violating the Bank Secrecy Law because he obtained the documents without a court order or authority from the Anti-Money Laundering Council. If the documents are fake, then Trillanes could be charged with perjury or lying under oath – which is a criminal offense under the Revised Penal Code.

‘The foundling and the beast’

An April 30 editorial from The Economist titled “Fatal Distraction” weighed in on the upcoming May 9 elections, saying Filipino voters are presented with “a ghastly choice” between frontrunners Senator Grace Poe and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte whom the op-ed christened “the foundling” and “the beast” respectively.

Calling Poe’s campaign as “lamentably vacuous” and virtually characterizing Duterte as a bloodthirsty vigilante, The Economist endorses “the competent interior minister” Mar Roxas (described as a “hopeless campaigner”) as the one who would make “the best next president.”

Those who read the opinion piece, however, said the op-ed seems confused as it pointed to a booming economy and warned that Aquino’s achievements could be squandered – but acknowledged a long economic to-do list, the widespread poverty, endemic corruption and traffic gridlocks.

The Economist may reflect the international community’s sentiment regarding a Duterte presidency, but it fails to take into account the Filipino electorate’s (or at least 40 percent) clamor for a strong leader who could make things happen. Duterte supporters say they would rather take their chance on the straight talking mayor rather than be duped again by motherhood statement-spewing “trapo oligarchs” who have not fulfilled their promises of meaningful change.

A diehard supporter of the mayor commented: “Between the foundling and the beast, we’d rather go for our kind of beast: Rodrigo Duterte.”

Pirates prowling Philippine waters

The beheading of John Ridsdel by Abu Sayyaf terrorists has given us a black eye once again before the international community, driving concerns about peace and order, particularly in

the South. Aside from Ridsdel, there are other hostages being held for ransom by the terrorists-turned-kidnap-for-ransom-criminals, among them several Malaysians and Indonesians whose vessels were hijacked sometime in March near the common maritime borders of the three countries. 

Last Sunday, the terrorists released 10 Indonesian hostages who were part of a crew from a vessel carrying a shipment of coal to Batangas from Indonesia. Unfortunately, officials from the coal ports of Banjarmasin and Tarakan have indefinitely suspended coal shipments to the Philippines due to fears the extremist terrorist group could hijack other vessels again.

While Indonesia has called on the Philippine and Malaysian governments to conduct joint naval/maritime patrols, officials from Indonesian coal firms said the recent incidents of hijacking show “the situation in the Philippines is unsafe,” hence the decision to stop all coal shipments.

This is a disturbing development because the Philippines relies on Indonesia – the world’s biggest coal supplier – for 70 percent of its coal requirements, mostly utilized for coal plants that provide electricity in the country. If the ban on coal shipments from Indonesia continues, people will suffer because it could exacerbate the already critical power supply situation in the Philippines. And since the MRT and LRT rely on electricity to operate, the situation could become more hellish for long suffering commuters. Ironically, a power shortage due to coal shortage could spike up the cost of electricity – an added burden to the already overburdened consumers.

But a more immediate concern among many is the effect of the ban on the May 9 elections, reviving fears of a “no-el” or no electricity scenario that could affect the outcome of the elections. Obviously, we cannot afford any perception of the election results being less than credible due to “no-el.”

Government has to step up efforts to prevent these pirates from prowling our waters again looking for their next hijacking victims. The Aquino administration has less than 60 days before it bows out of the picture. The question is, will it leave in the midst of (figurative and literal) darkness, or under a halo of light?

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