Peter Favila: The next BSP governor?

With the July 2 retirement of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando “Say” Tetangco drawing near, the rumor mill is going into overdrive that his likely successor is Peter Favila. The former Philippine Stock Exchange chairman comes highly qualified, having made a name in local banking as former head of several banks that include Security Bank, Allied Bank and the Philippine National Bank.

A number of banks have endorsed him for the position of BSP governor, expressing confidence that he will do well. Several businessmen also approve of him, pointing to his experience in local banking, plus the fact that he is currently a consultant of the BSP where he is known as a main “troubleshooter” especially for complicated and delicate problems. 

Of course, one of those who believes in Peter — who finished banking and finance from the University of Sto. Tomas and also took an advanced management program at Wharton – is Pampanga Rep. and Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who appointed him as secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry during her term as president.

In November 2015 during the Autumn Imperial Decorations ceremony, the government of Japan conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star on Peter Favila in recognition of his contributions in strengthening the economic relations between Japan and the Philippines. It was during his term as DTI secretary that the bilateral Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) was finally ratified in 2008.

Yasay to stay on as DFA secretary

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto “Jun” Yasay was also rumored to be in the running as the next BSP chief following the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte that Senator Alan Peter Cayetano would be the next DFA secretary.

But apparently — based on the information we received — the President wants Jun to stay on as DFA secretary, at least until the end of this year because of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that the Philippines is hosting this year.

The 2017 ASEAN summit also marks the 50^th founding anniversary of the regional organization, with the Philippines among the five founding members that also include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Preparations are already underway with Jun at the forefront – a no mean feat considering the numerous events that will be staged to commemorate the organization’s golden anniversary. Aside from the Leaders’ Summit and ministerial meetings, more than 100 meetings will be held in Metro Manila, Cebu, Pampanga, Laoag, Palawan, Legazpi, Boracay, Iloilo, Bacolod, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro and of course, Davao. 

If Senator Cayetano is to take over the DFA, it could be next year – or maybe not, since the president was supposed to have said that he needs Alan Peter in the Senate.

You can lose your money in the bank

Banking has been made easy and convenient through online banking with account holders able to conduct transactions practically anywhere. However, this can also be risky because somebody can tamper with your account and conduct unauthorized withdrawals.

This is what happened to our friend Roberto “Tito” de Venecia and his wife who had small accounts at the Bank of America branch in California as emergency funds whenever they visit the US. Tito said all transactions were conducted over the counter at the bank branch and received statements up until 2010, after which he did not receive any further statements or notices. He wrote several letters to BoA inquiring about their accounts’ status, but these went unanswered.

Imagine his surprise, therefore, when during a visit to the bank branch in California the other year, he was referred to a “personal banker” who told him that the accounts no longer exist — with the balance cleaned out through repeated online withdrawals from the Philippines. 

The bank said they may have been victims of identity fraud and their accounts had been tampered — despite the fact that Tito never registered for online services. Bank of America has been very unresponsive and seems to be doing nothing about the theft. Calls to the bank on the number given by the “personal banker” are either unanswered or just give a recorded message. Reports indicate that the Bank of America’s online system went haywire sometime in 2011 with other users able to see the account details of other customers when they log in.

Worse, the bank did not even notify its depositors about what was happening.

Tito de Venecia says his experience should serve as a warning — and lesson — to other depositors that they should not leave their accounts inactive for long periods because other people — perhaps even insiders — could gain access and take all their money from the bank.

* * *

Email: [email protected].