‘LBP-DBP merger may need House approval’
MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives will look into the legal basis of Executive Order 198 of President Aquino that merged two state-owned financial institutions, the LandBank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Saturday.
The House leader said he has ordered a study of the EO as he believes the merger should have been approved by Congress.
“I think the merger should not have been done just like that (through an EO),” Belmonte said.
“We’ve been talking about this merger for quite some time so this EO came as a surprise to us,” he said.
He said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima should explain why he pushed for the merger through executive action instead of going through Congress.
Belmonte said he would like to believe there was no rush or subterfuge in Malacañang’s move, since the EO was signed in the last months of the Aquino administration.
“Everybody was in favor of the merger anyway,” Belmonte said.
Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian warned the union would leave local government units (LGUs) on the losing end.
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