Roberto V. Ongpin: ‘Snake pit’ beckons
By Fernando del Mundo
When the phone rang one day in May 1979, he was not to know that he would be caught in one of the most tumultuous chapters in Philippine history.
When the phone rang one day in May 1979, he was not to know that he would be caught in one of the most tumultuous chapters in Philippine history.
Businessma Roberto Ongpin and his two coaccused in a graft complaint have asked the Sandiganbayan to delay their arrest in the case involving P660 million in alleged behest loans granted to Ongpin by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The lawyer of business tycoon Roberto Ongpin on Saturday said the Court of Appeals’ order freezing Ongpin’s bank accounts is “totally without basis and completely unjustified.”
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Thursday ordered the filing of criminal charges against 22 former officers and executives of state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and three private individuals, including businessman Roberto Ongpin, in connection with two loans amounting to P660 million granted to his firm in 2009.
Businessman Roberto Ongpin on Thursday reiterated that former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo had no involvement in the controversial loans extended to him by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). Instead, he challenged Senator Sergio Osmeña III to look into the bank’s write-off of a large loan it had extended to the companies of the Lopez family.
The camp of businessman Roberto Ongpin on Sunday urged Senator Sergio Osmeña III to “review his arithmetic” after the latter reopened the Senate hearings on the allegedly anomalous transactions between the trade minister of then strongman Ferdinand Marcos and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The government is pressing its claim against the operators of the so-called Binondo Central Bank and has urged the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division anew to reverse its decision dismissing the P50-billion civil case and reopen their trial.
Former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin on Thursday urged the Sandiganbayan to stand firm on its ruling clearing him of civil liability in the operation of the so-called Binondo central bank in the 1980s, as he challenged the government’s claim the decision was defective.
The personal secretary of businessman Roberto Ongpin on Tuesday objected to a statement from Senator Sergio Osmeña III claiming that she had pointed to Ongpin as the owner of a firm that was involved in the controversial buyout of Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) bonds.
The personal secretary of Roberto Ongpin reportedly admitted before senators during a closed-door session Monday that she owned “practically 50 percent” of the businessman’s corporations, at least on paper.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has issued an “immigration lookout bulletin” on Josephine Manalo, the personal secretary of businessman Roberto Ongpin and an official in the latter’s various companies, but would not prevent her from leaving the country.
A letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailed the circumstances that could prove that businessman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin might have engaged in insider trading when he bought Philex Mining shares, a few days before he sold a big block of Philex shares to tycoon Manuel Pangilinan at an agreed price.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has turned down the request of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to put in the immigration watch list an official of a company controlled by businessman Roberto Ongpin.
