FORMER OWNERS of a now-closed Bataan rural bank were found guilty of creating fake loans and falsifying documents, for which they were sentenced to imprisonment.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement on Monday that the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Balanga City and the Municipal Circuit Trial Court-Orani-Samal in Bataan found officers of Orani Rural Bank (Bataan), Inc. (Orani RB) guilty for violating Republic Act No. 8791 (The General Banking Law of 2000), RA No. 7353 (The Rural Banks Act of 1992), and the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
“The courts convicted Tomas Antonio A. Ortiguera, former Chief Operating Officer, and Democrito M. Dominguez, Jr., former Compliance Officer, of Orani RB for their participation in the creation of 10 fictitious loans amounting to P6.928 (million),” the BSP said.
“They were able to facilitate these spurious loans by falsifying the loan and related documents of the alleged borrowers, which were discovered by the BSP during an investigation of Orani RB’s loan transactions after its closure,” the central bank added.
The RTC-Balanga decided that Mr. Ortiguera and Mr. Dominguez are guilty of 10 counts of violation of Section 55.1(a) of the General Banking Law of 2000, as penalized under The New Central Bank Act.
Given the findings, the court sentenced both Mr. Ortiguera and Mr. Dominguez to imprisonment for a minimum of two years and one day and a maximum of four years for each count.
RTC-Balanga also found Mr. Ortiguera guilty for one count of violation of Section 26 of the Rural Banks Act of 1992 and was slapped the same penalty.
Meanwhile, MCTC-Orani-Samal decided Mr. Ortiguera guilty of two counts and Mr. Dominguez guilty of one count for falsification of documents under Article 172(1), in relation to Article 121(2) of the RPC.
Both were sentenced to imprisonment of a minimum of three months up to one year and one day, as well as paying a fine of P5,000 each. This will be converted to imprisonment in case they are unable to pay the fine.
“The BSP promotes good governance among banks in line with its broader efforts to ensure the soundness of the financial system and to protect the interest of the public,” the central bank said. — K.B. Ta-asan
