The filing of criminal charges against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr. is a clear attempt by Roberto Ongpin to shift the blame to another for the freezing of his bank

accounts pursuant to the December 6, 2012 resolution issued by the Court of Appeals, said lawyer Augusto San Pedro Jr., counsel of Espenilla, on Friday.

On Thursday, Ongpin, sought legal action against the central bank official.

Lawyer Alex Poblador, Ongpin’s legal counsel, said that the businessman had “decided to take all
justifiable action to seek appropriate retribution” as he has suffered financial damage “clearly quantifiable in terms of the major drop, amounting to several billion pesos.”

But San Pedro said that “the press statements and the filing of criminal charges on January 4 by Ongpin against the Deputy Governor Espenilla totally disregard the fact that the whole issue arose from the filing of criminal complaints by the Development Bank of the Philippines [DBP] with the Ombudsman against Ongpin and other DBP officials who were involved in the approval of loans to companies affiliated with Ongpin to buy Philex Mining Corp. shares owned by the DBP.”

He added that the Ombudsman said that the facts indicate violations of Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and that the crime of money laundering may have been committed. The Ombudsman therefore, referred the matter to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for immediate action.   

Meanwhile, the appellate court said that probable cause exists to freeze the subject bank accounts of Ongpin based on the council petition filed by the lawyers of the Office of the Solicitor General, the anti-laundering body’s statutory counsel.

Violation of the act is a predicate crime under the law governing money laundering.

Furthermore, lest it be forgotten, the council’s resolution is a product of a collegial body governing the anti-laundering body, and that while the deputy governor’s counsel also said that he acted as the chairman of AMLC, in the absence of the BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr., in authorizing the filing of the petition for the freezing of accounts of Ongpin. Hence, Espenilla said that action cannot be attributed to him personally.

“Furthermore, Ongpin in singling out Deputy Governor Espenilla as behind the freezing of his accounts insults the Ombudsman, the AMLC, the Office of the Solicitor General and the Court of Appeals, the institutions that decide on matters such as this,” San Pedro added.

Ongpin was a former Trade minister during late strongman Ferdinand Marcos’s administration.