The state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has incurred a loss of possibly nearly P1 billion over the disposal of the loans of Lopez-affiliated companies several years ago, Malacañang bared Monday.
The government loss was highlighted by Presidential spokesman Harry Roque when he presented an infographic on how the P1.6-billion worth of loans of the Lopez group were sold off and how the family supposedly managed to buy them back and earn a profit.
The infographic titled "Transactions involving DBP, Lopez Companies' Bad Loans, and Lehman SPV" was the information obtained by President Duterte, according to Roque.
President Duterte earlier threatened to block the operations of ABS-CBN network even if it gets a fresh franchise from Congress unless it settles its supposed unpaid obligations to the government. Duterte, in his televised address last week, also questioned the alleged condonation of the Lopez group’s past loans from DBP and decided to let the Office of the Ombudsman investigate the matter.
In a press briefing Monday, Roque said the Lopez companies secured P1.66 billion worth of loans from the DBP. He wondered why the companies belonging to the Lopez group could not pay for the loans even when they were not bankrupt at the time.
Roque said DBP decided to sell the Lopez loans to Lehman Brothers for an amount between P668 million to P1.069 billion under the special purpose vehicle law. He noted a Lehman Brothers official could no longer recall the exact sale price.
Under Republic Act No. 9812 or the Special Purpose Vehicle Act of 2002, banks were allowed to unload nonperforming assets to an asset management company to help them recover during the financial crisis.
After the asset sale, Roque claimed the Lopez family supposedly bought back such assets at a lower price.
"Magkano po ang pagkakabili nila? P1.250 billion to 1.4 billion, diumano. So ang suma total po, ang gobyerno, sa pamamagitan ng DBP, ang pagkakalugi ay P999 million to P598 million; ang Lopez family, ang kita nila ay P250 million to P417 million (How much did they buy it? Allegedly P1.250 billion to P1.4 billion. So in total, the government, through DBP, lost between P598 million to P999 million. The Lopez family earned a profit of P250 million to P417 million)," he said.
Roque said the President has left to the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the loan disposal of the Lopez group. He noted that the anti-graft law includes a provision against entering into a contract prejudicial to government.
"Now, hindi naman po namin sinasabi na may pananagutan na kaagad ang Lopez family (Now, we are not saying the Lopez family already has accountability). Kaya nga po ang sabi ni Presidente, hayaan na natin ang Ombudsman ang mag-imbestiga (That's why the President said he will let the Ombudsman investigate it)," he said.
He said the Ombudsman must determine if the disposal of the Lopez loans through SPV was fair and ethical.
"Dapat pag-aralan ngayon ng Ombudsman itong ganitong sistema kung saan ang isang kumpaniya na hindi nalulugi ay naibenta ang kaniyang pagkakautang sa isang SPV sa isang mas maliit na halaga at binili iyong mga assets na ginamit para i-secure itong pagkakautang na ito sa mas maliit din na halaga. Ito ba ho ay tama? Ito ba ho ay makatarungan o ito ba ho ay ethical? Dapat ba ho ipagpatuloy ito? (The Ombudsman must study the system where a company that is not bankrupt managed to sell the loans to an SPV at a low price and bought back the assets at a lower price. Is this right? Is this fair or is this ethical? Should this be continued?)" he said.
He said a DBP official who informed the President about the matter has also raised concern given the pending Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act bill in Congress. The bill is said to be an improved version of the SPV Law to help the financial system to mobilize credit for pandemic-hit sectors.
Roque said the FIST bill must prevent instances where government banks would be at a disadvantage.
Early this year, DBP president Emmanuel Herbosa denied that the state bank condoned the P1.6 billion in loans from business belonging to the Lopez group. He said the nonperforming loans and assets were disposed of pursuant to the SPV law.
A House panel reportedly plans to resume the probe on the disposal of the past Lopez loans.