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A
LOCALLY-BASED thrift bank and two branches of regular
commercial banks based in Manila are having difficulties
servicing their clients panicked by the sudden
withdrawal of most of the deposits of boxing champion
Manny Pacquiao.
Informed
sources said Pacquiao withdrew all his money from a bank
in General Santos City as he conducted a personal audit
and found he spent more than P140 million in
election-related expenses but was still trounced by his
diminutive political opponent.
The
withdrawal triggered similar withdrawals in two other
banks in the city whose own clients heard of the sudden
Pacquiao withdrawal, according to the sources.
None of
the banks was identified but two of them are branches of
two Manila-based commercial banks and the other is a
locally-based thrift institution, the sources said.
Sources
said the banks hit by sympathetic withdrawals dealt with
their problems by accessing the overnight market to
service worried depositors.
According to the sources, Pacquiao, who ran under the
Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), was miffed that
his Metro Manila-based political principals did not
deliver their end of the bargain as he sought the
reimbursement of expenses arising from his decision to
seek an elective position in his native province of
South Cotabato.
There
was a reported deal for Pacquiao to spend from out of
his personal pockets, with the principals pledging to
reimburse every centavo spent at the end of the campaign
period.
According to sources, Pacquiao called his political
principals as it became clear just days before the
actual May 14 elections that he would lose his bid to
get a congressional seat, only to have them cut the
phone line abruptly.
Subsequent attempts to reestablish contact proved
futile, and this led Pacquiao to take all his money from
the banks, ostensibly so the boxing champion could take
stock of what was left of his personal wealth, the
sources said.
Temporarily illiquid banks, such as those hit by mass
withdrawals, borrow from others on very short term basis
and return the money right after.
That the
problem was addressed adequately by the overnight market
and without the intervention of the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas was a clear indication of the relative
strength of the banking system as a whole, the sources
said.
Meanwhile, a member of Team Pacquiao said it was
possible that the superstar boxer did lose that much
money in his attempt to become a congressman.
“The
P140-million plus Manny lost, [that] could be true,” a
Pacquiao confidante said. “Definitely, it’s not lower
than P100 million.”
One
instance relating to how Pacquiao was duped is how two
operators charged the boxer P500,000 but never worked
for him after being paid.
The
operators said they would help Pacquiao in his campaign
but would only do so if Pacquiao paid them the initial
sum. Pacquiao never heard from them again. He later
found out that they were already working in his rival’s
camp. |
