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Saturday, October 01, 2005
Bankers vow to help with security
Cebu City’s bankers assured Mayor Tomas Osmeña they will cooperate with authorities in ensuring that banks are safe against robbers.
That prompted the mayor to take back his threat to sue bank managers and put up signs declaring uncooperative banks as high-risk to customers.
The mayor issued the threat following last Monday’s robbery of East West Bank on Archbishop Reyes Ave.
According to a statement from the bank, the heist, its second for this year, lost them P50,000. The first robbery last January, allegedly perpetrated by a group led by Rey Torres, cost the bank an estimated P500,000.
The mayor said he was “putting off” his plan for now, saying it was enough that bank managers made the promise.
But if other banks will still insist on raising the alarm only after the robbers have left, then he will file complaints of obstruction of justice against bank officials.
My turn
“It’s my job to inform the public,” the mayor said.
He added that those who will not do their share will suffer a bad reputation because he will reveal their inaction to the public.
The mayor said he will also inform the banks’ insurance company that they are “high-risk.”
“That will drive up their premiums,” he added.
Cebu Bankers’ Club president Grace Paras of Allied Banking Corp., in a separate interview, said they will always support the mayor.
Security is everybody’s concern, she said, and members feel that they must report “immediately, without fail” any criminal incident happening in their banks.
They also have a dedicated help desk that accepts only incoming calls from banks.
She clarified, however, that the group cannot impose on the banks what security measures to adopt, because they are responsible for securing their premises.
It is also the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and not the Cebu Bankers’ Club, that ensures security guidelines are adopted by banks, she added. (RHM )
(October 1, 2005 issue)
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