Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman (Manila Bulletin)

The proposed merger of the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) can only happen through the action of Congress.

Independent minority congressman, Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman gave this take on Sunday, May 7 amid murmurs that a mere directive from Malacañang via executive order (EO) was enough to achieve the merger.

"Only the Congress can grant legislative charters to operationalize Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), amend their charters, or abolish or merge GOCCs," Lagman said in a statement.

"The [DBP] was created under Republic Act (RA) No. 2081 of 1958 and the [LBP] was established by RA No. 3844 of 1963. They have separate legislative mandates. The proposed merger of DBP and LBP necessitates the amendment of their respective charters by the Congress," he said.

"Only the Congress can amend or repeal statutes. The projected merger cannot legally be effected by a mere executive order," stressed the Liberal Party (LP) president and administration critic.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is pushing for the merger.

"Legislative enactment, not executive fiat, is mandatorily required to operationalize the proposed merger of DPB and LBP," Lagman further said.