The House of Representatives investigation into the “bad loans" of owners of the ABS-CBN network with the Development Bank of the Philippines has been expanded to include similar loan issues totaling P9.55 billion that led to huge losses to the state-owned bank.
Members of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability unanimously adopted a motion for the inclusion in the on-going inquiry “bad loans” that the DBP sold to special purpose vehicles or financial companies at a loss in 2006.
The House panel also agreed to a motion made by Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor for the issuance of a subpoena that will compel the DBP board and management to submit the list of private companies that failed to pay loans extended by the bank.
Defensor and other panel members said DBP absorbed losses reaching P5.7 billion after SPAVs acquired the loans at a mere P3.83 billion.
Chaired by DIWA Party-list Rep. Michael Edgar Aglipay, the House panel has conducted an inquiry into allegations that the Lopez group had “unjustly benefitted from the P1.6 billion worth of loan condoned by DBP.
Bank officials explained that the unpaid Lopez loans have been considered non-performing loans (NPLs) and were part of the P9.56 billion loans sold in a SPAV auction which is authorized under Republic Act 9182 or the Special Purpose Vehicles Act of 2002.
The law allows banks to unload their bad loans assets to a special purpose vehicle, which is a stock corporation that will invest or acquire the NPLs and NPAs.
In the case of the Lopezes, their loans were sold to Lehman Brothers Asia Ltd., the Asia-Pacific Arm of defunct United States investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
The committee directed the DBP to present documents pertinent to the loans and the SPAV sale.
Aglipay also insisted on the presence in the next hearing of members of the DBP board of directs and other senior officials.
Earlier, Aglipay said his committee would also look into loans of other private companies as those secured by the Lopez group represent only 17 percent of the entire amount of DBP bad loans.
“We will have to find out which companies benefited from the 83 percent of all DBP bad loans,” Aglipay said.
House Resolution No. 1040, principally authored by DUMPER PTDA Party-list Rep. Claudine Diana Bautista, calls for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the alleged condoned DBP loans of the Lopezes.
“The details of this condonation or write-off as yet unknown to the public at large, despite the fact that this particular transaction could have cost the Filipino people P1.6 billion which could have been used for various programs that would provide much needed help to the general public and the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the resolution read.
“The impact of the loss of P1.6 billion is further compounded by the urgent need of funding for government programs to address the ongoing global pandemic.”