State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) vowed to exhaust all available legal remedies to stop its proposed merger with the Land Bank of the Philippines. In a statement, DBP said on Wednesday, May 31, that the bank is standing firm against the merger, noting that it formally submitted its appeal memorandum to the Office of the President last May 18. According to DBP, the memorandum contains, among others, "the extensive discussion of responses and counter-arguments of the Bank to the justifications raised by the proponents of the merger, principally the Department of Finance (DOF).” DBP added that its “perfected appeal” shall now be subject to review by President Marcos. The state-owned lender then cited the Administrative Order (AO) No. 22 (s.2011), which prescribes the rules and regulations governing the appeals to the president. The DBP also quoted Section 9 of AO No. 22, which states that the "…execution of the decision/resolution/order appealed from is stayed… until OP [Office of the President] makes its decision final and executory.” “We believe this provision of AO covers all forms of issuances pertaining to the merger including those from the DOF and the Governance Commission on GOCCs,” it added. Earlier, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said President Marcos was expected to issue his executive order for the merger of DBP and Land Bank within May. Meanwhile, DBP said there is a need for an independent body that would thresh out all possible issues, concerns and ramifications with utmost impartiality and equanimity in order to formulate a viable solution to the proposed merger. The independent body shall advance "the welfare of both financial institutions and the banking and finance community as a whole,” DBP said. Last week, DBP Chairman Dante O. Tiñga said said the Supreme Court would eventually weigh in on the legal questions over the DOF-led merger of two government-owned banks. Tiñga, who is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court, however, clarified that DBP would not initiate the petition before the high court. Meanwhile, Tiñga said the bank’s management would not oppose should President Marcos decide to approve the DOF’s draft executive order calling for the Landbank-DBP merger.