DBP lawyer found dead; suicide seen

A lawyer for the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) who was reportedly investigating “previous questionable transactions” was found dead in a budget hotel room in Las Piñas on Tuesday, a high-ranking police official said.

The police official identified the victim as Benjamin Pinpin. He had been dead for at least six hours when his body was discovered, investigators said.

Initial investigation indicated he committed suicide. Investigators said he was found in the hotel room’s bathroom hanging by a nylon cord.

Based on the suicide notes he left with his family, Pinpin took his own life “because of his problem with the Development Bank of the Philippines,” according to the report of SPO3 Aristotle Raquion and PO2 Bobbe Imbo.

The body was brought to a funeral parlor for autopsy.

In a statement, DBP chair Jose Nuñez said Pinpin was crucial to the ongoing investigation into past transactions in the bank.

“President Francisco del Rosario Jr., the whole DBP board, and I are in agreement that Atty. Pinpin is a key player in the DBP legal office and a big loss to the bank,” Nuñez said.

He said Pinpin was a second-generation DBP employee. His mother was the DBP dentist, he said.

Nuñez said the DBP was waiting for the police report on Pinpin’s death, “which, if initial reports are to be believed, are under unusual circumstances.”

The DBP chair said Pinpin had an important role in “a crucial investigation concerning previous questionable transactions.” He did not elaborate.

“So we are hoping that his passing had nothing to do with that,” Nuñez said.