MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has dismissed two supervisors implicated in the falsification of attendance records of ghost employees, imposing the maximum administrative penalties including forfeiture of benefits and a lifetime ban from public service.
In a resolution dated Aug. 20, the central bank’s Monetary Board upheld the findings of the BSP legal department and ruled that the erring supervisors were guilty of administrative violations tied to the dismissal of four staffers last year.
The sanctions include dismissal from service, forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of civil service eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and a bar from taking civil service examinations.
“The imposition of maximum administrative penalties on the supervisors is the BSP’s latest step in addressing an issue it always took seriously, valuing the integrity the institution is known for,” the central bank said in a statement.
“The BSP has handled the issue as swiftly as possible while observing the standards of due process to ensure that the decision upholds justice and accountability,” it added.
The controversy stemmed from the case of four employees who were caught falsifying their attendance records and dismissed in July 2024 with similar penalties.
The two supervisors who approved their records were investigated separately, leading to the Monetary Board’s latest decision.
The scandal also forced the resignation of two former Monetary Board members, V. Bruce Tolentino and Anita Linda Aquino in June 2024. As presidential appointees, their cases were elevated to the Office of the President, which spoke on the matter on July 15.
To prevent a repeat of the incident, the BSP said it has introduced reforms, including enhanced training for supervisors, a revamped employee onboarding program that highlights ethics cases, and a reorganization of the BSP Committee on Ethics and Decorum, now led by a deputy governor instead of a director.
The central bank also launched a new human resource system to digitize timesheets and supervisor approvals, while strengthening its whistleblower mechanism and reviewing the management of Monetary Board offices.
“The BSP’s leadership is committed to maintaining and strengthening integrity in the institution,” the central bank said.
The BSP started its investigation of the matter in November 2023, before it became public, considering all the evidence and defenses presented.