BPI speaks up on Duterte controversy

MANILA, Philippines – Amid a call for bank run from the supporters of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) spoke up and denied allegations that it has breached client confidentiality.

“Our internal investigation reveals that there has been no such breach,” BPI said in a statement late Friday, April 29. (READ: ‘We are not safe’: Netizens threaten to close bank accounts for Duterte)

This was after vice presidential candidate Senator Antonio Trillanes IV showed a table with the supposed credit transactions of Duterte with BPI, involving about P211 million.

Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, managing director and chief financial officer of Ayala Corporation, said BPI did not violate any laws. Ayala Corporation owns BPI.

“I don’t know where Sen. Trillanes got his information, but the graphic posted by the [Philippine Daily] Inquirer showing alleged credits, that is not a BPI document,” Limcaoco, who used to serve as the president of BPI Family Savings Bank, said in a mobile phone reply.

In the fallout of the news, a viral post shared over 24,000 times, called for a bank run or closure of bank accounts, doubting the reliability of the bank.

The camp of Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II showed a photo of a bank receipt from BPI exposing the account Duterte and his daughter Sara. A bank receipt from PDI also showed the same results.

Also today, Roxas camp deposited money into supposed Duterte BPI acct to check if it exists. pic.twitter.com/WnHEbMqqDT | via @beacupin #PHVote

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) April 28, 2016

“The deposit slip shown by Mar or the Inquirer is not a unique thing. All banks will show the name of the depositor on a deposit slip,” Limcaoco said.

A bank run is typically the result of panic, rather than a true insolvency on the part of the bank.

BPI said it continues to have one of the most highly regarded data protection practices in the industry.

“We are committed to protecting client information and preserving the trust bestowed on us by our clients all these years,” BPI said. – Rappler.com

*Editor’s Note: The previous story said Limcaoco is the president of BPI Family Savings Bank. Since March 1, 2015, Limcaoco has been serving as the managing director, chief finance officer, chief risk officer, chief sustainability officer and finance group head of holding company Ayala Corporation. The story has been corrected.