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Monday, January 05, 2009
Bank holidays 'well-planned'
BACOLOR -- The holidays declared by two rural banks in this town last December 2008 may have been "well-planned," said two bank employees Sunday.
The two employees, who requested anonymity, said a close aide of Victoriano de Castro, president of Rural Bank of Sta. Rita Inc. (RBSRI) and director of Rural Bank of Bacolor Inc. (RBBI), told them that they were "just going on holiday ahead of other banks to give them more time and respite after a hectic year."
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"The aide of Sir de Castro just told us, 'We're on holiday tomorrow,' and that was it. We didn't get the opportunity to ask why. We were just shocked upon getting the news that they have filed for bankruptcy," the insider said.
But a ranking officer of the bank, who admitted he was privy to the bank's affairs, said: "something else went on, something well-planned."
He added: "I really wouldn't want to speculate but things like mass withdrawals could not be the only reason here."
He, however, confided that de Castro has indeed left for the United States and that his wife was left behind, but could not be tracked by them.
Sun.Star Pampanga's calls to de Castro remained unanswered as of this posting Sunday.
"I have this gut feeling something is wrong somewhere. Some of my colleagues here believe it has something to do when our boss' ran for a political post in the last elections. But we could not really give statements yet as we are undergoing investigation right now," the officer said.
He said his opinion as a long-time employee of the bank is "simply based on the sequence of events and a seeming pattern."
"But we are reassuring our clients they will get their money back. That's for sure. It may take some time, but they do not have to worry," the officer said.
At a rural bank branch in the City of San Fernando, worried clients still hold their hopes high for any news on the two banks.
A commercial banker said majority of the clients of the RBSRI and RBBI are vendors, small-scale entrepreneurs, and teachers who have deposited substantial amounts before the bank holidays were declared. (JTD/Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (January 5, 2009 issue)
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