Culpability or innocence not a matter of popularity

OVER the past several days, most of the major news outlets around Manila have carried two upbeat stories about RCBC bank, which is currently mired in the $81 million money-laundering scandal being investigated – rather ineptly, in our opinion – by the Senate and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The first was about the expressions of support for RCBC from several noted business figures and firms, all apparently customers of RCBC, who vouched for the bank’s overall good service and sound business practices despite its present difficulty, and gave its directors and management team a vote of confidence. The second story was the disclosure that RCBC’s two biggest shareholders, Pan Malayan Management and Investment Corp. and Taiwan-based Cathay Life Insurance respectively, increased their stakes in the bank in the wake of the scandal.