Former Marcos Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin has decided to wage a war against the Bangko Sentral, particularly BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., the operating chief of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority.

Espenilla last December ordered the freezing of all the bank accounts of Bobby Ongpin and the companies identified with or controlled by him. Some 80 bank accounts are involved, according to reports.

In preparation for his legal and media battle against AMLA, Bobby has unloaded his holdings in the Philippine Bank of Communications, a listed medium-size bank with a checkered history of operations.

There is very little trading done in the stock market on PBCom shares. On July 29, 2011, PBCom was doing at a high of P95 per share, giving the bank a market value of P4.747 billion. On July 17, 2012, PBCom shares hit a low of P64 per share, giving it a market cap of P3.3 billion, a loss of a third of its value. On Jan. 4, this year, Ongpin sold his holdings in PBCom for just P40 share, 58 percent down from the bank’s share price in July 2011.

The tycoon said in a press statement issued last Friday and embargoed for Monday:

“Since I have made public my criticism of the Monetary Board action in deferring my election to the board of PBCom, I believe that it is not sufficient that I only resign all of my positions in the bank but dispose of my shareholdings as well. I think that if I were to remain a major shareholder of PBCom, it is only natural to expect that there would be a bias by the Bangko Sentral against PBCom.”

“Therefore, in order not to unfairly prejudice the bank, I have decided to sell all my shareholdings in PBCom.”

Ongpin disclosed he sold 6,131,801 common shares and 15,358,446 preferred shares of PBCom representing 12.45 percent of the share capital of the bank to Eric Recto, his nephew and the bank chairman, in a special block sale transacted on the stock exchange on Jan. 4. Though selling at P40 a share, Ongpin claimed he still made a small profit based on his original acquisition cost of the shares in 2011.

PBCom was last traded on Wednesday, Jan. 3, closing at P79.80 per share. Ongpin said he agreed to be paid on an installment basis by the buyer, Eric Recto.

“Since Eric doesn’t have P860 million lying around, I had to give him terms where he paid me a downpayment of 10 percent amounting to about P86 million and the balance payable in three equal annual installments,” Ongpin said.

Ongpin said while he regretted selling out because of the strong potential of the bank to become successful, he said he should undertake a “financial sacrifice because of his decision to criticize the Bangko Sentral’s action against me.”

He explained: “I have obligated myself to sell all my stockholdings, thus cutting off all ties with the bank, and allowing it to continue on its path to becoming one of this country’s strongest banks.”

Ongpin would file anti-graft charges against Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Espenilla for freezing his assets.

The Harvard-educated tycoon said he was suing Espenilla due to his contradictory positions surrounding the transactions made by the Development Bank of the Philippines with companies owned by him in 2009.

“Espenilla has caused my reputation the gravest damage by his signing an ex-parte petition with the Court of Appeals that my bank accounts be frozen,” Ongpin fumed.

The freezing of Ongpin’s bank accounts stemmed from the anti-graft case filed against him by the Aquino administration in connection with the P660 million so-called “behest” loan he obtained from DBP then headed by President Rey David during the previous regime. Ongpin used the DBP loan, along with other loans secured from other banks, to buy Philex shares which shares he later sold at a huge profit. DBP was paid, in December 2009, before Ongpin’s loan matured and made a tidy profit, P1.4 billion. If you ask me, making P1.4 billion on a P660 million is not graft. It is excellent management. I know Rey David from way back in the 1970s when he was vice president and head of Treasury at Citibank.

Though the bank made money from the Ongpin loan, 25 bank officers, Ongpin and his two officers were sued by the incumbent DBP management led by Chair Pepot Nuñez for graft.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, an Aquino appointee, ruled the DBP loan to Ongpin a behest loan and illegal and ordered 13 of the 25 officials dismissed from the service. The charges against the 12 were dismissed because they had left the bank when Carpio-Morales made the ruling. I am using information gathered by my colleague, Bobi Tiglao who wrote on Jan. 3 in the Inquirer that President has debased AMLA and used it as a weapon against his enemies. That includes Ongpin. In this regard, the BSP is in danger of losing its independence under the Aquino presidency.

Ongpin has become a proxy in Aquino’s Matuwid na Daan campaign against President Gloria Arroyo who Aquino has portrayed as vile and corrupt. If Aquino is able to destroy Ongpin, he will be able to destroy Arroyo’s image as president.

Corrupt or not, Aquino is the president who doubled the Filipino’s per capita income to $3,157 during her nine-year presidency and made the Philippines join the ranks of middle class nations. No president in history has ever doubled the Filipino’s per capita income. Mrs. Arroyo built up the country’s infrastructure and installed reforms that contributed to the competitiveness of the economy today.

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