MANILA, Philippines - The tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday slammed the administration’s recent approval to merge the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
In a statement, the tandem warned that the move would restrict the two state-run banks from fulfilling their mandate of providing services to the poor.
The Duterte-Cayetano tandem added that instead of the government rescuing farmers and small business from loan sharks, they are actually consigning them forever to unscrupulous lenders.
"Ilang bilyon na ang pinautang ng DBP sa malalaking negosyante. Ang iba nakasuhan pa dahil sa mga behest loan. Pero ang mga magsasaka, market vendor, walang makuhang kapital kaya pinagsasamantalahan ng mga 5/6 (loan sharks)," Duterte said in the statement.
"Kapag tinuloy ito, papahirapan na naman ng gobyerno ang mga tao. Diyan ako galit. Ang gobyerno dapat ay para sa tao. Hindi para lang sa mga mayayaman at may impluwensiya," Duterte added.
As stated in Executive Order (EO) No. 198, the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) determined that “it is in the best interest of the state to merge DBP and LBP.” The EO pointed to the banks’ overlapping functions and the need to be more competitive as reasons behind the merger.
The tandem of Duterte and Cayetano further refuted arguments that the merger will remove overlaps between DBP’s and LBP’s functions. They said the two institutions have distinct mandates. While DBP provides credit to small and medium businesses, the LBP grants credit to the agriculture sector.
"These banks were not meant to compete with private banks. They are meant to grant financial assistance to ordinary Filipinos, especially farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises,” Cayetano said.